The Powells: Jack is 5 months old!

The little man turned 5 months old this week. He's such an easygoing baby and very pleasant to be around. The workers in the church nursery always comment on how happy he was with him. He's quick to laugh and smile and such a joy (almost all of the time). Here's what he is up to these days...

Stats: The little man is a little man! By our estimates, he's getting close to 15 lbs and 26 inches. He's finally getting some rolls on his thighs, haha. Elise at 5 months was quite a bit chunkier! He moved up to the middle setting on the cloth diapers this month, and he still wears a size 3 disposable at night. He wears mostly 6M-9M sleepers and 6-12 month clothes (though the long sleeves and pants are a little long... they should fit for a while). He is drooling but not teething yet. His hair is finally thickening up in the back and his "toupee" is getting longer and longer. It actually gets below his eye level sometimes and it is still curly. His new hair is coming in lighter and appears to be straighter.

Eating: Thankfully, he got over the "side preference" that I mentioned in his 4 month post and is nursing very well. He eats 5 times a day at approximately 7:45, 10:45, 1:45, 4:45, and 6:45 for 10-15 minutes. He will drink from a bottle but he won't take a full feeding from it, even at bedtime, so he doesn't get one very often. I'm planning to introduce the straw cup at 7-8 months and hope that he'll like it better. I have no plans to start solids for another month or so. I don't think he's ready yet, he seems totally satisfied with milk, and I don't want to add another task to my day until it's really time for it. I'll also have to start using liners in the cloth diapers when he starts solids, which isn't a huge deal, but will require a little more effort on that end.

Sleeping: He is still sleeping well at night and for naps. He goes to bed around 7:15, wakes sometime between 7 and 8, and takes 3 solid naps. The first two are at least 1.5 hours and the last one is usually 45 - 60 minutes. He is definitely not close to being ready to drop the third nap, though Elise dropped hers around this age. When I put him in the crib, he watches his mobile for a few seconds and then immediately turns on his left side and puts his thumb in his mouth. It is too cute! At the beginning of this month, he was still having some issues with the 45 minute intruder, but that phase seems to have passed. Sometimes he will stir and make a few noises at the 45 minute mark, but he's usually back asleep in a few seconds. He pretty much bypassed the terrible 4 month sleep regression that Elise had. For about a week at the beginning of the month, he was waking up early to eat (between 5 and 6 am) and would go back to sleep until the normal time, but that was the extent of it. Now, he sometimes wakes up and "talks" for a few minutes at that time, but goes back to sleep without eating or crying.

Playing: He loves sucking his fingers and thumb and playing with his feet. He is starting to get more interested in holding toys and chewing on them. He still loves his activity mats, the exersaucer, the jumperoo, the stroller, the Bumbo, the Beco, and the bouncer. When we're home, he gets rotated around to different "stations". He can be happy in the stroller for over an hour. He also likes just playing on a blanket on the floor. He is less mobile than Elise was at this age. She was rolling all over the room and sitting on her own in the tripod position at this age. Jack is totally content just to chill on the floor. He started rolling from his back to his tummy several weeks ago, and since then he seems to have forgotten how to roll the other way. He is not close to sitting independently but he does LOVE to stand holding on to our fingers. If he's laying down, he'll use our fingers to get to a sitting position and then push himself up to stand. He's starting to jump and rotate himself in the jumperoo and enjoys playing with the toys on it and on the exersaucer.

Happy 5 months, sweet boy!

Jack with Pop