5 months

It has been so long since I have posted many pictures of Peter, so I'll quickly post a few. At 5 months, Peter was able to finally roll over. He still can't stand being on his belly for tummy time, but he can always roll over. He also started to jabber at 5 months. Mostly, he would jabber when no one was around, usually in his crib while he was falling asleep, or when he woke up.


Peter at Christmas, just before he turned 5 months. Finally a picture of Peter with Mommy. We really need to get a camera that's more user friendly so that I can have more representation.


Peter in his Christmas present.


Peter in his Yoda hat from his Aunt Lauren for Christmas. Cute and funny!

Solids

I’m learning that Peter is very particular in terms of what he will and will not eat. Hence, the fact that I am still pumping all of his milk. I’m mostly referring to his willingness to eat solids.

It has taken me about two months to get Peter to eat 7 solids. At first, I thought it was a lost cause because no matter what I gave him, he would purse his lips and turn his head away from the spoon. I temporarily gave him fruits to get him to appreciate solids, which he enjoyed for the sweetness, I’m guessing. He takes after his mom’s sweet tooth.

Anyway, then I gave him vegetables. That was a challenge because he pretty much avoided all Gerber foods, which is fine because I prefer to make all of his food home-made if I have the time. It appears that we have a food snob already. Again, taking after his parents, unfortunately. But I’m happy to say that he’s eating sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, and oatmeal.

He doesn’t eagerly eat anything. Rather, we put the spoon in his mouth when it is open, and he doesn’t spit it out. So, there are improvements to be made. But I have learned that persistence is important with Peter. He may refuse a food ten times, but he’ll generally get accustomed to a flavor and begin to accept it. It also helps that he’s not quite as willful yet because he’s still so young. Or maybe that’s just Peter.

A picture of Peter's latest solids accomplishment: peas, which are all over his face

Sleep update

I figure since it’s been two months since I’ve posted, I’d better start with an update on Peter’s sleeping habits. Thanks for all your great comments and advice. Things are going much better now. I decided to work with Peter on a couple of areas to help this along. First, I took away his paci for good. I actually did it before his 6 month immunizations, and it was surprisingly easy. Since taking away the paci, he has started sleeping better and better. He started sleeping at least 6 hours again, so that was great!

After doing a lot of research online, I discovered there are a few different methods to sleep training. It seems to range from Dr. Sears’ technique of attachment parenting to Dr. Weissbluth’s method of extinction (essentially crying it out for as long as it takes for baby to sleep). I found that neither method worked for me, so I did something in the middle. I can’t bear to listen to Peter cry in earnest for more than a few minutes, which is lucky for us because he rarely does this. More often, he will cry in short bursts while whimpering inbetween. After his bedtime routine, we put him in his crib awake. Sometimes he talks to himself after we leave, sometimes he alternates between crying and whimpering, but he very rarely cries inconsolably. If he is too upset, I’ve decided to go in and pick him up for a minute and then put him in his crib again. I basically do this for as long as he needs to feel comforted, and then he decides that he can be calm enough to fall asleep. I generally have one night like this every two or three weeks. The rest of the time, he goes down without a hitch.

So what I’ve learned from this experience is that I’m sort of a softie with his crying, mostly because Peter hardly ever cries, so it’s hard for me to hear. But I’ve also learned that what works for one baby is probably not going to work for every baby, or every parent for that matter. If Peter were more persistent with sobbing every night, I'd probably be singing a different tune. But because he's generally pretty happy, I'm not bothered spending extra time comforting him if he needs it occasionally.

Now that more time has passed, I’m happy to report that now he generally sleep for at least eight hours in a row, and it’s even pretty common for him to sleep for ten! Yay!! Naps still aren’t great. Usually he sleeps for either 45 minutes 3 times a day, or 1 ½ hours once a day with a 45 minute nap later on. I figure I don’t want to fight him on this. I tried that initially, and it only resulted in tears and frustration for both of us for a few days. But, I’ll take what I can get. I am hoping that once Peter starts to crawl, he will expend more energy and start napping better. From what I read, that will probably be the case.

Sleeping Like a Baby

Whoever thought that phrase should be synonymous with a good night sleep was crazy. Or, they just didn't know my baby.

Okay, out of the (I'm guessing) 5 people who actually read my blog, I'm getting desperate!!! Anyone who has advice, please help! Here's the situation: Peter used to be such a good napper and sleeper. At 3 months, I was getting up once per night, and he used to take good long naps during the day. Now, I'm lucky if he sleeps for a 4 hour stretch at night, and he naps for maybe a 30 minute stretch (if I'm lucky) a few times a day.

This all went south at his 4 month appointment. He had a horrible week and woke up screaming for several nights in a row after his immunizations. Still not sure why, but the day after his 2 month immunizations was horrible too. I supposed as the new and concerned parent I was, I wanted to hold him extra that week, especially while he napped. Ever since then, I scarcely see a night when he sleeps more than 4 hours in a row. Even worse, he wouldn't let me put him down to nap for a few weeks--I finally broke him of that habit, but lately he won't do more than catnap a few times a day. I suspect part of this is his paci attachment (he wakes up when it falls out of his mouth), and I suspect part of it is that he doesn't know how to self-soothe. Although it's strange because he was such a good sleeper before his 4-month appointment. What happened to my good sleeper??? And to any experienced parents who read this, what can I do? Do I have to let my son scream himself to sleep to teach him to self-soothe? I don't think I could bear that. And running in to put his paci back in his mouth every time it falls out obviously isn't an option either. Someone please help! :)

On an unrelated note, but just so I don't forget: Peter had his head ultrasound, and everything is just fine. Despite jumping from the 10th to 70th percentile in two months, the boy is okay. He didn't much like the experience of cold jelly and a wand put onto his head, but overall the experience wasn't too bad.

Life of Late

Aunt Melanie took pictures of Peter at 4 months, but I have yet to get copies of those pictures. So for now, here are some of him a little older.

It's been a busy two months since the last posting. We had a lovely Thanksgiving here in Maryland, and then went to Washington for a week in December. Peter had fun getting to know his Grandpa and Grandma Stucki. He is connecting with people socially now, and so it is fun for him to be with people, especially people other than Mom and Dad. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me, and so I have no pictures of that trip. The only pictures of the trip are the ones that Melanie took of Peter, so hopefully I’ll have those pretty soon.

Peter has been growing like a weed! Since trying to get him off the bottle, I had perhaps been feeding him a little too much since I wasn't exactly sure what he was getting from nursing. As a result, at his 4 month appointment, he went from the 25% to 45% in height, the 10% to 70% for weight, and the 10% to 70% for head circumference. So, we now have a short, fat baby instead of a long skinny one. Once I addressed Peter affectionately as "fat boy", and now Chris enjoys addressing him thus. They measured his head three times just to be sure--once the first time, second by the nurse, and third by the doctor. They were a little concerned and gave us a referral for an ultrasound to check and make sure his head is okay. However, the doctor did say, "He's probably fine. It could just be that he genetically has a large head." I didn't respond that his father also has a large head, and that this was probably the case. We're not really worried about it, but I should probably get him in soon just as a precaution.

Peter has been meeting all of his milestones in a timely manner, but more so socially rather than physically. His head control has probably been the slowest, and now we know why. It must be hard to hold up that noggin! :) Anyway, he has been growing to be very social and attention-loving. He smiles and coos and laughs at just about everyone who smiles at him. When we were walking down the corridor to our flight to Washington, there were life-sized posters of smiling Southwest employees, and Peter was smiling at all of them. It's like he thought they were all there for him. So cute.

Peter also is very curious, and loves to be carried around and looking at everything. The downside to this is that we have to carry him around often to keep him happy. If we leave him in his swing for longer than he likes, he voices his frustration by lip-trills. It's quite amusing.

Two days ago, Peter finally flipped from his front to his back during tummy time. He hasn't done it since, but again, it's probably hard with that huge noggin of his.

In other news, Chris and I both have callings in the ward now. He is the varsity coach for the teacher's quorum, and I have been called as the Relief Society meeting coordinator (formerly the enrichment meeting coordinator). We have been joking that since they dissolved the ward activity coordinator calling, that those responsibilities will be relegated to me, as the Elder's quorum isn't usually one to plan activities. Anyway, since I was called to the activity, I had about two weeks to plan an elaborate Relief Society Christmas dinner. Thankfully, I had a lot of help and support from the 2nd counselor, and a committee. It turned out beautifully, and I'm so glad it's over!

I think 5 posts for one day is enough. So I'll call it quits. I'll take pictures of our Christmas tomorrow and post them soon. Merry Christmas everyone!

Hair before and after

 

Peter had funny long hair that was strongly resembling a comb-over since he's been losing his beautiful thick baby hair. I know his hair hasn't come in yet, but his hair was driving me a little bit nuts, so I broke down and gave him a trim. See below.

 

 

 

You can see his hair thinning in this one especially.

4 and a half months

 

Decorating our very first Christmas tree in 6 years of marriage. Finally!

 

Peter loves to laugh and smile at his dad.

 

 

Peter doesn't have tons of patience for books yet--not surprising at 4 months.