The Hill Family Saga: Our Sweet Baby Boy Is 5 Months Already!

Weight: 16lbs 6.4oz

Height: 26.75 inches (he was blowing Alethea's numbers away, but the gap has narrowed to only being .25 inches taller than she was at 5 months)

Clothing: He is still wearing 3-6 month clothing and it seems like he is wearing more and more 6-9 month and 9 month clothing every day.

Who needs clothes anyway when you look this cute, lol!

Diapers: He is still rockin’ his cloth diapers. He is getting close to needing to move up a rise, but not quite and we are beginning to have to change a bit more often because he is wetting heavier.

Gotta love a baby in a diaper :-)

Eating: He is nursing 5 or 6 times a day depending on if he sleeps completely through the night. He is typically eating every 3-4 hours depending on how well he is napping and often times his last two feedings of the day are closer together.

Friendships: He still spends most of his time with family and is always a big fan of his sister. In general he lights up around people. He is a very smiley little guy.

Watching TV with Papaw

Big sis rocking him in the rocking chair. :-)

She provides him with some pretty awesome entertainment!

Mobility: He is rolling all over the place. He also began sitting independently around 4.5 months. The only time he tips over tends to be when he tries to look at something/someone behind him and loses balance. He still can purposefully transfer from sitting to lying down, but he does it without hurting himself most of the time.

My big boy sitting on his own

And doing a bit of toe grabbing. :-)

Sleeping: I have to keep reminding myself that he is not going to be the same type of sleeper his sister was. Once she started sleeping through the night, she just did, and she rarely even made noise at night. He is very streaky with his nighttime sleep though and his sleeping through the night is rarely as glorious as the 12 to 13 hours she always used to do. I guess it just proves how you can do the same training, but end up with different results because each child is different. Declan typically nurses to sleep around 7:15pm and 8pm most nights (typically closer to 7:30pm) and then most every night he sleeps until at least 5:30am. That is where the streakiness happens. Many days he will wake up at 5:30ish to nurse and then go back to sleep until 7ish, but then other nights he will wake up anywhere from 6am to 7:15 and be up for the day. He is so unpredictable! Plus he tends to be a random night crier. Most of the time he is only making noise for a few minutes and goes right back to sleep but it still disturbs my sleep. :-/ He is also crazy sporadic with his naps. Some days he takes 3-4 30-45 minute naps and other days he will take 2 1-2hour naps with the occasional 30 minute nap to tide him over til bedtime. So basically we don’t really plan around naps anymore; we just do what we need to and make sure there is a place for him to sleep if needed.

Sleeping like Alethea always loved to....this hasn't been a repeat performance though :-)

Playtime: We retired his playmat by the end of the month. He would rather sit up and play or have the freedom to roll around without bars in the way. J His independent play has gotten so much better. We have a ninja turtle reading pillow that we put behind him and he will sit and play with toys for quite some time by himself. This makes for perfect opportunity to play with Alethea or get something done. Alethea and Declan also do a ton of playing together. She very much enjoys dressing him up or bringing him toys and, most of the time, he enjoys it too. J He still loves the jumperoo as well and especially loves to chew on the firefly toy attached to it. He has officially discovered his love for chewing on his socks/toes and at diaper changing time that is about all he wants to do, lol. He is starting to really enjoy looking at books. I have had a chance to read a little bit to him by himself, but many times he just sits in my lap while I read to him and Alethea. Sometimes it can be quite the task to keep him from trying to eat the pages though, which she isn’t so much a fan of, lol.

He loves this learn and groove!

Playing in his low chair ;-)

Jumping it out while Mommy lifts weights :-)

Communication: He is very quick to change moods. He goes from happy to ticked off in a matter of seconds and then back down often times just as quick. Thankfully many times just a simple smile or goofy dance can bring him back to a happy mood. He loves to watch people and does a ton of cooing to respond to their interactions. He has started a bit of growling and throaty coos this month. He still has his sweet purr-like cooing too which I love.

Showing off his communication skills while playing with a ribbon.

Teeth: Still no teeth, still a chewer, and still plenty of drool to go around.

Random: He celebrated his first Halloween and went along for trick or treating with his sister. We just had him wear a cute sleeper that said “my first Halloween” and had a pumpkin hat to go with it. He slept in his real crib for the first time this month on November 15^th, the day we finally moved into our new home. He also sat in a high chair for the first time this month and he loved it! I can’t believe he will be eating in a high chair in about a month. He will definitely be ready because he is super interested in our food already!