Time Flies - 5 Months Already

Graeme turned 5 months old this past Monday.  I feel like he is getting so big! He's moved into 3-6 month or 6 month onesies, 3 month separates, and size 2 diapers.  We've weathered another cold, but overall he's been a much happier baby lately.

He got another cold last week and didn't want to eat again.  The doctor advised us to try thinning out his milk, so we've been leaving out the oatmeal from his bottles.  This has definitely made a difference with getting him to eat.  Also, it doesn't seem to be negatively affecting his reflux (probably since he's getting a proper medicine dosage now), so we're going to continue without oatmeal unless it becomes a problem again.  The downside to this is that he's not really eating on a schedule now.  I think both he and we haven't figured out exactly how much he wants to eat now that there's no oatmeal filling him up.  I'm sure we'll work it out though.

Sleep-wise, he's been a handful! The last few nights Graeme has been waking up every 1-3 hours and eating every 2-3 hours.  We're really looking forward to getting some longer stretches of sleep in! The nights where he slept 5-8 hours straight are starting to seem like they were so long ago.  On the bright side, we have successfully managed to transition to arms out at night!  Graeme was trying to roll over onto his tummy (which he accomplished a few times), so we knew that meant the swaddling days were over.  It was rough at first, but I think we're getting there now.  Last night, he started rolling onto his side after we put him down on his back and then sleeping that way until he woke up again. I think this may be why he was waking up and fussing after being down a short time - when he couldn't get himself onto his side, he was getting mad.  We're still working on putting him down for naps.  Since he had another cold, he didn't want to be laid down again.  Now we're managing to put him down about half the time, so I guess any improvement is good!

Graeme is back to enjoying tummy time.  He is doing so well with picking his head up! He can also raise his chest a bit now too.  And as I mentioned earlier, he managed to roll from back to tummy a few times.  It's definitely not a common occurrence yet, but it's progress.  He's rolling from tummy to back again too...something that had stopped happening for some reason.  He especially likes doing tummy time outside.  More to see!  If only it wasn't so hot and rainy here, it would make things much easier.  Right now, the yard is usually wet and then he gets sweaty out there after about 15 minutes or so.  But we still try to have some outside time daily.

He's finally starting to smile more too.  Mornings are his favorite time - as soon as we come in his room after he wakes up, he gets this big grin on his face.  He also loves family mirror time after his bath (which is another favorite thing).  Seeing all of us in the mirror gets a huge smile out of him.  So far, the only thing that really makes him laugh are the dogs...he just lights up around them!  We have both managed to get him to laugh a few times as well, especially Steven, but the dogs are still the best.  He's also starting to get startled or upset by some things - like Steven's loud sneezes! When Steven sneezes, Graeme's face just starts to crumple.  It's really kind of comical, although of course we feel so bad for him at the same time.

Graeme has been doing really well with grasping objects.  He also likes to grasp things with his feet!  When he's on his playmat, he will have one hanging toy with his hands and another with his feet.  He also loves his kick 'n play piano.  This kid definitely has strong legs!  He really wants to start standing and walking.  If you hold his weight and let his feet hit the ground, he will move his feet forward like he is walking.  He enjoys moving around and trying to follow the dogs.  He likes the feel of the grass under his feet too.

We've also started having meals at the table together now.  We put Graeme in his high chair (which reclines) for the first time a few nights ago.  Since then, he joins us while we eat dinner.  It's such a nice feeling to be all together around the table.  He's been doing better in the car now too.  Not too fussy and will even fall asleep easily in his car seat again.  Now church has been another matter.  We haven't made it through a church service in a few weeks.  He just seems to get overwhelmed by all the people, sounds, lights, and stained glass (ooh, pretty colorful light!).  Then he won't take a nap even though he's tired and ends up screaming.  Here's hoping today goes better!

And some big news...Graeme is officially a lifetime member of LPA! Thanks so much for everyone who helped us pay for his membership.  We are super excited about this.  We've been in touch with the organization and were referred to a doctor at Johns Hopkins who will look over Graeme's various medical results (x-rays, CT scan, etc.) and let us know if she seems anything worrisome.  The people at LPA were great to talk with and full of good advice.  We're also going to try to schedule another sleep study soon.  This time, we are going to find somewhere that does infant sleep studies routinely. Last time (when we didn't finish the study), the tech had only done one infant before.  I think it will go much more smoothly if we find someone more experienced. Unfortunately, our insurance doesn't cover the only other place in Baton Rouge that does infant sleep studies, so we may be traveling to Lafayette to get it done.


We're also going to try to do a play date with baby Annie in the near future.  Annie is a little girl at church who was born only 2 weeks after Graeme.  I know they won't really be able to play together yet, but it will still be fun to see what he thinks of another baby.  So much to look forward to!