Five Months Old

Where does the time go? I think I pretty much say that every time Matthew is a month older, but seriously, 5 months already?! It seems like he was just born yesterday. My OB says it's time for another one ;) I'm not so sure about that. Handling one baby is enough for me right now. I don't think I could do two. Props for those with multiples!

I was just telling Josh on the phone that when Matthew's in a good mood, it doesn't take much to make him laugh. He's very ticklish, and sometimes if we repeat a word over and over to him that he thinks is funny, he gets the biggest smile on his face. You know that kind of smile right before a laugh? Yeah, that's the one, with eyes sparkling and everything. I love to watch him enjoy stuff--it's so cool. And kinda strange. Just today he pulled the burp cloth over his face (he does that with any blanket-type toy) and normally he gets all excited, but today he was laughing out loud! He was nuts I tell you. I was on the phone with my brother-in-law, and Matthew's over on the floor just laughing it up and having a great time. What a weird kid. He must get that from me ;)

I don't have anything to update really, since I talked about him recently in a post. Oh, I don't think I've told you this yet, but he's been doing it for a while. He scratches his head... and he draws blood too. One time he did it so bad it looked like a cat had clawed him. I try to keep his nails short, but they are still sharp, and I guess his head itches. His scalp is really dry, so I've been applying baby oil every night to help that out.

Overall he's just more playful as he gets older. We'll kiss all over his cheeks, and he'll scream and push us away sometimes. He's ticklish up by his neck and on his ribs mostly. In physical development, we're still working on him sitting up, but he definitely prefers to lay flat on his back. When he's in that position, he rolls onto his side, but not all the way over yet. He's better about being held. He likes to be up on our shoulder and he'll sit on our laps at the computer or in the rocking chair. Naps are still touch and go. Some days are by the book, and some days aren't. One day he didn't take any naps at all, but then that night he slept for 12 hours. Which just goes to show you that he does need the rest, he's just resistant to it sometimes. He is such a good baby though. Even though I complain about his lack of sleeping skills (which I am to blame for) he's so mellow and content most of the time. Some have called him a dream baby. He may not be perfect, since no kid ever is, but he's my dream come true.

Brand New Cousin!

It's official! Matthew's got another cousin. Josh's sister/my sis-in-law had her baby on Wednesday, and her name is Chesney Lorraine. She is 19 1/2 inches long and weighs 7lbs. 15oz. She was born at 5:06pm and from what I heard, she pushed for under an hour, so that's great. I'm so glad to hear that. I had to push for longer, and it really wears you out. Though I'm sure she's still plenty exhausted, because duh! she just had a baby. I'm excited about visiting them this weekend so we can meet the little one in person. I better make sure my camera battery is fully charged :)

I Can't Think of a Good Title

You ever look forward to eating but end up disappointed with the food? That happened to me today. I was at the mall with Matthew (of course) and I decided to get a slice of pizza at SBarro. I've eaten there before, so I know I like their pizza, but it just wasn't good today. The dough was dough-y and bland and unfulfilling. And I wanted an uncaffeinated drink, but all they had were drinks with caffeine. So I settled on Pepsi, which apparently I haven't had in forever, cause I just hated it. It tasted really gross and sweet. Yeah, this experience made me wish I had eaten leftovers at home. But on the plus side, I got a clearance skirt at NY & Co. for $9. They have some really nice clothes there, and the prices are reasonable if you look for sales and clearance things.

And speaking of clothes, lately I'm getting tired of wearing T-shirts. That's pretty much all I wear cause I want easy access for feeding Matthew. I have button-down shirts in my closet that fit and all, but they are a pain in the butt for nursing. It's just easier to have a stretchy knit shirt, and cotton T's fit the bill. I'm normally a pretty casual dresser, but I guess I like the idea of knowing I can dress up once in a while, you know? Such is the life of a nursing mother I suppose. Oh well, enough about that.



I have an idea! Let's talk about Matthew! My favorite subject ;). Let's start with the not-so-good things. Today he didn't take a morning nap. He fell asleep while eating, so I laid him in the crib and he was down for about 15 minutes before I heard him again. I don't count that as a nap. It's way to short for him to get adequate rest. I tried to pat his butt to get him to go back to sleep, but he wasn't having any of that. Not that he was upset or anything. He's on his belly, so he'd just slowly lift his head and crane his neck so he can see me, and then he'd smile. I couldn't help but smile back, but I really tried not to. I mean, it's not time to play, it's time to sleep. But whatever, I can't make him nap if he's not tired. He is getting better with naps in general though. One day he gave me two perfect naps for an hour and a half each. And one day he slept for over 3 hours! It's funny, cause on some days where his naps are right on, his eating schedule is screwed up. But he's been doing well with eating on schedule for the most part. Yesterday he ate every 3 hours like clockwork--it was amazing.

He sleeps through the night consistently now. And he usually gives us 9 hours, though today and yesterday it was more 8 and 8 1/2. He's definitely getting more interactive. You've seen from the videos how he responds to Josh when he plays with him. And sometimes when he's playing with a toy and he loses it, he'll whine about it, like he's saying, Mom, get my toy for me! But when it's totally within his reach, I don't help him out. Oh, and that's another thing about him. He's getting much better with his hands and fingers. Sometimes I'll catch him just looking at his hands and trying to figure out what they can do. He'll hold out one of his fingers and just stare at it and move it around. So now he can grasp his toys much easier and quicker.

He experiments with sounds, as you've seen on video as well. He squeals and screeches and moans and tries to talk. He even tries noises to see how we'll react. We've been working on him saying "Da-da," and I think he really tries to sometimes. I can see in his mouth that he's got his tongue touching the roof of his mouth, so it's in the right position. All he's got to do is spit out the word. Easier said than done for a baby though. Oh, we've also tried giving him some rice cereal, but I don't think he's ready for it yet. It's not so much that he didn't like it, cause all babies are going to screw up their faces when they are experiencing something new like that, but he wasn't eager for more. He didn't open his mouth for the spoon, which is one of the signs that a baby is ready for something besides formula or breastmilk.

I've got more to write, but I've gotta go feed him now. Until next time, Be well!

What a Noisy Kid I Have!

I don't need to say anything more on that subject, cause the videos below speak for me.

Ok, I guess there's one more thing I can say. I have a noisy husband too ;)

An Apple a Day

Matthew had his four month check-up today, and he had a good time. Except of course at the end, when he got his shots. He really liked kicking on the table, and it's probably because he enjoyed the sound of the paper as it crinkled and crunched. The doc rotated his legs and checked his ears. I asked him all my little questions, and he said I could start feeding him solids, like the rice cereal and fruits and veggies. I don't think I'll start quite yet though. No particular reason really. Maybe when he can sit up better I'll start him on those things. Oh yeah, his stats. Our jumbo jet weighs 20 lbs. 12 oz. and is 28 inches long. He's in the 97th percentile for both of those. And for those who might think that he's way chunky and so fat, well, he's not. He's proportional with his height and weight, so there! :-P Oh, and with the weight, I thought he weighed more, cause we weighed him at home a couple weeks ago, and we got 21 lbs, but apparently we were off. Which means we kinda jumped the gun on a new carseat. This weekend we installed a convertible carseat cause it has a higher weight limit than the one we were using. So technically he can still use the previous one, but we're not switching them now. It was too difficult getting it in. But it's fine. He'd have to transition to a bigger carseat eventually anyway.







I almost forgot! He of course didn't like his shots, but I think he did better this time. He didn't cry for as long, but by the time I got him out to the car he moved from whimpering to crying again. It probably didn't help that he was ready for a nap. He fell asleep in the car and when I got him home I fed him and put him down for a nap. He's a little trooper. He looks really cute in these next pics. Like a little muscle man.









There's not too much else to report about him. He's growing all the time, as you can see in the pictures. He drools more and chews on everything, so teeth are on their way. With the extra drool comes a new talent... spitting. He makes bubbles and spits at us while he talks. It's really very cute and not that gross (yet). He loves to wrestle with his daddy, and he's always more talkative when he gets home. I guess he's figured out that Josh is the crazy one, so he gets very excited when he sees him. He's been in the church nursery on Sundays and does well there. He's had some moments where he's honestly just throwing a fit I think, but he gets over it fast. He doesn't nap well, and that's nothing new. He's good about letting me cut his nails and toenails. Sometimes he'll cry when I leave the room, but he's fine as long as someone is there to play with him. So I wouldn't label him as a momma's boy just yet. But I know he will go through phases of that. It happens to the best of 'em. Boy, all this talking about my baby makes me want to go play with him. See ya!

Simple Pleasures

This was the toy...

All I did was drop it on the floor over and over, and he just loved it...

Just some videos for your viewing pleasure

Super Baby!


He's sitting up! Ok, not by himself. He's getting some help here. But if you notice he keeps his head level with his back, and that's progress.


He has these moments where he'll just make this noise for like five minutes. Just talking about who knows what.

Date Night

Thursday night was a special one for Josh and me. We had the opportunity to join some friends at a dinner theatre, and we had a wonderful time. We put Matthew in the capable hands of two loving aunts for the evening, and Josh and I were able to spend some time together without the responsibilities of parenthood. And it came at a good time I think. We've both been really tired and a little on edge with each other, so going on a date was the perfect remedy. The buffet had some great food (the mac and cheese was the best), and the show was magical. Disney magic, that is. We saw Beauty and the Beast, and for me it brought back memories of watching the Broadway production with my sister a few years back. The lights dimmed, the music began, and I got into the story from the very start. Belle had an amazing voice, and so did Gaston. He made his character really fun. LeFou was really good as well (that's Gaston's sidekick), and Cogsworth was hilarious. I was a little disappointed with Lumiere--he didn't have the best French accent, but it was alright. Our table was right in the front, so we got to be right up close to see the action. At intermission I made a beeline for the bathroom, and when I got back I gave Josh a kiss to thank him for our date. He got me this because he's so sweet...

My own enchanted rose! I'll keep it forever :)

So Matthew still doesn't sleep through the night. This weekend he woke up twice, and Josh and I seriously discussed giving him formula for bedtime, since it does make a baby fuller. We didn't end up doing it yet, but I am not opposed to it at all. And it's not only for my sake, but Matthew's too. He needs his sleep more than I do. And since naps are still difficult at times, I count on him getting the majority of his sleep at nighttime. Now last night he slept 9 hours straight, but of course that could be because we gave him Tylenol before bed. No no, we are not drugging our child to make him sleep. He's been generally cranky this weekend, which is very unlike our normally good-natured baby. He's also been chewing on either his hands or anything that's in them, and when he eats he sometimes cries like it hurts. I know it's sort of early for teething, but he's got a lot of the signs of it. I felt his gums, and there's nothing surfacing yet, but they could be moving within his gums that I can't see, and I'm sure the pressure is painful to him. Poor baby :(


I was trying to take some pictures of him last week, and I kept saying "Smile, Matthew!" Or "Say cheese!" And this is what he kept doing...






What a goober.

Much better :) I've got some fun videos of him that Josh and I have taken recently, but I'll have to post them later. They take longer to load up than pictures do, and Matthew's calling for me anyway, so I better finish up. Have a great week!