5 months old

Dane is 5 months old. I can't even believe it, I still think of him as my newborn and the realization that he's almost 1/2 a year old is really quite devastating. He's such an angel baby that I don't want him to grow up, EVER. But since I don't have any control over that, I'll just tell you a little about him at this stage because before I know it, it'll be over and he'll be on to something new.

He's a great sleeper, and has been since the very beginning. He goes to bed at about 9:30 and sleeps until about 3:30...sometimes later. We usually go into the office where I nurse him in the recliner and then he goes right back to sleep until about 6:30 when he eats again. Usually I just nurse him in bed at that time and we snuggle/sleep for another hour or so until Brady wakes us up. His nap schedule is a little less predictable, but that's totally my fault. I hold him during a lot of naps, so he mostly catches a few 30-45 minute naps until Brady's nap time after lunch (yes, Brady is back on naps...most days). Then he'll go into the bassinet and sleep for 2-3 hours.

Speaking of the bassinet....Dane sleeps in one in our room. When we had Brady, he spent his first night in our room and then we decided he made too much noise in his sleep, so we moved him into his room and decided we weren't the room sharing type. With Dane, we didn't have a room for him (when we were in the apartment in Los Alamitos), so out of necessity he ended up in a bassinet in our room. He was pretty noisy at night too so we got a noise machine and just did our best to deal with it. Once we moved here, I kept him in our room because I was used to it and I think I actually get MORE sleep with him in there. As soon as I hear him stirring at night, I'm up and replacing a paci or patting his arms until he falls back asleep (usually takes 15 seconds...probably creating bad habits, but I don't care right now). If he was in another room, I wouldn't hear him until he was more awake and crying and then it would take much more effort to get him back to sleep, so I'd be up longer. That's my theory anyway. I'll say this, I've never really felt sleep deprived since having Dane, so I guess it's working well for us. BUT, he's starting to get too big for the bassinet, so I'm trying to lay him in his crib once in a while for naps to get him used to it. Eventually we'll transition him into the crib, but I'm not in a rush.

Dane weighs 14lbs and he is much chubbier than Brady ever was. He has these great chubby little legs with rolls and I love to squish and tickle them ALL day long. I get the greatest giggles from him when I do. I love seeing him laugh, but one of my favorite things about him at this age is that he's starting to laugh at us when we're being silly and not just when he's being tickled. Just the fact that he can recognize silliness or playfulness and laugh at it makes me really happy.

He is the happiest and most mellow little guy. People are always commenting on how "good" he is, and while I hate the "good baby" talk, I certainly know what they mean. He's just happy to be held and if you talk to him, you're almost guaranteed to get a big gummy grin from him.

He's really started to take notice of Brady. Often times while I'm holding him, he's turning his head just staring at Brady and following him (with his eyes) wherever Brady goes. He loves when Brady talks to him or sings to him. I think (hope) they'll be great buddies as they get older.

One of my favorite thing that he does right now is just a look he gives us. When we have him sitting on our laps, looking out, he'll often hear our voice and strain to turn his head and look up so he can see our face. He just stares at us as we talk. I LOVE it.

He is also rolling around, grabbing at toys, and playing with his feet now.

That about sums up little Dane at 5 months old. We ADORE him and are so glad to call him ours!

ALSO, if you read my last post about plagiocephaly, you might want to know that we had an evaluation at the hospital and it turns out Dane does not need helmet therapy. Wahoo! They recommend helmet therapy when there is a 10-12mm difference, but Dane only had a 9mm difference from one side to the other. The doctor said that as he gets stronger and moves more, his head should just round out on its own, so no helmet required. Even if they suggested one, I wasn't convinced I'd get it anyway. You really can't SEE the flat spot, I only noticed it because I'm his mom and I'm constantly rubbing his head and studying his features as I admire him. :)

SO, there you go. Everything there is to know about my lovely Dane at 5 months old.