Milestones: Miller- Five Months

Hey Miller! When did you get to be such a grown up?! Weren't you just born? Every day you turn more and more into a unique little human. And while I definitely miss some of the tiny newborn snuggles, it's such a pleasure to get to watch you become your own person. Here's a little about you, these days:

• You weigh 16.4lbs. I won't bother pinning you down to get your height, so the official stats will have to wait until next month at your doctor appointment. 
• You're wearing mostly 6 months clothes. Little by little I've been packing up your 3 month outfits, which makes me a little teary. I know it's silly, but I get sad when I put away some of my favorites, knowing I'll never get to see you in them again. 
• You went through a rough patch right around 4 months. You started waking up more at night, refusing to eat, and were just an all around crankpot. It coincided with an ear infection, and a two week break from school (for Christmas), so it was hard to tell if you were sick, off your routine, or just a general pain in the neck. Maybe all of them. A little googling taught us about "the four month sleep regression" and you seemed to be a textbook case. They say there's not much that can be done to help during this stage, it's just a sign of your brain developing, and working on some important leaps. So we gritted our teeth, rocked you extra long, extra often, and hoped that you'd pass through it and we'd get our sweet baby back quickly. Fortunately, the fussiness only lasted about two weeks (though it felt like muuuuuuch longer). 
• You pretty much eat every 3 hours, but recently you've been a little tricky, only eating really well if you were really sleepy. I used to try to feed you right when you wake up, making that the first thing in the cycle, but you were getting distracted, and would pull off constantly, so now I wait until I know you're really hungry, which is usually right before your nap. I don't really want you to get used to being fed to sleep, but for now this is working, so I'm not too worried. 
• You're still waking up at night- usually two times. We used to get a solid stretch from around 8pm to 2am, but now you've added that 10/11 feed back in, and are up at least one more . It's a little frustrating, to not feel like I have a break in the evening- by the time we get everyone to sleep, it feels like I blink and then it's time to feed you again. We're planning to sleep train you around six months...so get ready, buddy! 
• You still sleep in your basinet in a swaddle. During your sleep strike, we tried a "magical" sleep suit (borrowed from the neighbors) and even put you in your crib, but both of those experiments lasted about 15 minutes before you were screaming and we went right back to the old routine. You still like the swaddle, but you're getting too big for the blankets, so you almost always manage to wiggle an arm or two free by the time you wake up.
• You can roll from your front to your back. It kind of looks like tipping over, but I count it. ;) When you're on your back you can get onto your side, but haven't quite mastered flipping over on to your belly. You do like to play on your mat, watching the lights and listening to the sounds while you kick your legs. In fact- kicking is one of your favorite things. You love the bouncy seat upstairs because it bounces you like crazy whenever you kick your feet...which is pretty much non-stop.
• You're working on sitting up. You're solid in the boppy or bumbo, but still wobbly on your own. I love to watch you do little crunches when we lay you down in a reclining position. You seem to either want to be flat on your back (so you can try rolling around) or upright so you can see and play with everyone.
• You love "the circle of neglect" (aka: the exersaucer). I think it's fun for you to be upright, and you love to jump/bounce, and spin around to see all the toys. 
• You reach for toys, and can actually even hold them- at least for a while before dropping them. It's fun to see you actually recognize objects, and make the connection that you want them, and can do something about it. It sounds silly, but it really is a big development, compared to a few months ago when you just stared at things in awe.
• You like to be naked. If you get fussy in the evening, sometimes we just strip you down to your diaper and let you lay on your back and play.
• You seem like you might be teething. Or at least just drooling a lot more than you used to. You also like to put everything in your mouth. You especially love your "chewy sticks". We have these little plastic teethers that look like toothbrushes, and you love to hold them and gnaw on them. 
• You have the cutest little blonde spot on your head. You've had it since you were born- it almost looks like a bald spot, but it's actually really light blonde hair, near the front right side of your head. You also seem to have a windows peak...I'm not sure if it's your actual hairline, or if your hair just lays that way, but it's always a bit pointy in the front.
• You kinda hate baths now. We still only manage to bathe you around once a week, and recently you've been screaming the whole time we do it. 
• You have the biggest, best smile. You greet everyone with a big gummy grin, scrunching up your cheeks and showing off your dimples. I love to see you happy, and your joy is infectious.

We love you, we love you, we love you, Miller Bear.