Jude, Five Months

Jude is 5 months old!

Weight

16 lb 9 oz. The gaining has slowed but I believe that's pretty normal at this point.

Height

We'll measure again next month at his 6-month check-up!

Sleep

This past month is all a blur.

He wakes about 2-4 times at night now, 2 of which require a feeding, and 1-2 he can get back down pretty easily with just some butt patting or some snuggles from daddy.

He goes to bed at about 9pm and is up for the day by around 7am. 

He typically naps around 9am, 1pm, and 4pm, but that can vary greatly depending on when he wakes up in the morning, how long his naps are, and what's going on during the day. Some naps are 2 hours, others are just 1, sometimes he wakes up mid-nap and needs help going back to sleep, and some are just 20-minute catnaps. You never know what Jude will do!

We've been able to put him down very drowsy but awake and he can fall asleep on his own, which has been a big improvement! He definitely lets us set him down more easily now. It doesn't always work, but it usually does and we like that. 

The Magic Sleep Suit worked great for the majority of this past month, but he just learned how to roll over in it! So no more Magic Sleep Suit allowed, for safety reasons. Now we have him in his Zip-A-Dee-Zip Sleep Sack. And he gets to sleep on his tummy at night since he's a pro roller. :)

In summary, things are sloowwwllyyyy but surely getting better in the sleep department.

Firsts this month

-Rolling from back to belly all the time! He's a pro now!

-Sitting up for a few seconds at a time. He supports himself with his hands on the ground and looks like a little gorilla. Adorbs.

-If we put him in a standing position leaning on something, he can stay standing for a little while on his own.

-Getting his toes into his mouth. Huge accomplishment. :)

-Responding to his name by turning toward the person calling it.

-Screaming. Lots of hilariously cute screaming! Little man is discovering the power of his voice!

Nicknames
No new developments here. The go-tos are Gooey Baby and Juuuuuude and Jude Francis! Oh, and we call him Chicken Nugget sometimes too.

Other things to note
-Jude is in cloth diapers full time now!! We still use disposables at night, just as we do with John Paul, but woohoo! We did it! The extra 12 diapers I ordered helped big time. Now excuse me while I go wash/dry/stuff diapers for all of eternity. :P

-Little Mister is stillll teething and doesn't have a single tooth to show for it. Just a ton of drool. And all the things going straight to his mouth the second he gets his hands on them. I've even seen him try to chew on our kitchen table. Poor kiddo must really be working hard on popping a tooth!

-This kid is a smiler! He smiles at everyone and it melts my momma heart every time. I especially love the way his smile takes over his whole face. Yes, Jude, you can have anything you ever want if you just keep flashing me that gooey smile.

-A friend gave us her double stroller (free double stroller SAY WHAT?!), so we occasionally go on walks around the neighborhood with our good friends (who live just a few blocks away!). John Paul always loves walks, while Jude just tolerates them. He's gotta be in the right mood for it. If not, he'll scream and scream until I take him out of the stroller. So we never go too far.

-I'm dealing with some post-partum anxiety/depression. It's been pretty mild and manageable, and the second I sensed I was having an issue I contacted my NaPro doc. He's got me on a few things now (including progesterone injections), so I'm hoping it'll be a thing of the past come next month. It is *not* fun to not feel like myself. And with the anxiety, I worry about taking both boys out shopping or on adventures, so we don't go out much and that's no fun. On top of that, the sleep deprivation makes the anxiety/depression a million times worse. So if you could send up some prayers for me and my husband and boys as we navigate this lame side effect of having babies (curse you, imbalanced hormones!), that would be great!

-Ready for some TMI? Jude has had some specks of blood in his poop. Womp womp. We're in the process of running some tests, but right now the suspect is a milk protein allergy. So I'm cutting out dairy for the next month to see if it helps. Wish me luck! And if you have any favorite dairy-free recipes, please please send them my way.

-The Jude & John Paul bond continues to grow. John Paul loves to give Jude several kisses on his head right before bedtime. It seems that it's actually become a requirement in order for John Paul to be truly ready for bed. John Paul also loves doing tummy time with Jude and running over to Jude with toys if he thinks he's bored. John Paul is always asking where Jude is and if he hears Jude making noises from another room, it's instantly, "I hear Jude!" I can't get over how adorable my boys are. I hope they find forever pals in each other. What a blessing it is to watch their friendship grow!