myles oliver : monthbymonth 5

Another month gone by... You are 5 months old now little man.  You seem so much older!  Not a day goes by that I'm not expecting you to bust out talking or crawling all of a sudden.  Not that you are really going to be doing that any time soon, I think it is in your facial expressions.  You just are so attentive to everything, and with all of the movements and noises you make daily, it just really wouldn't surprise me all that much!

You are still sleeping like a champ.  You hit a really fussy time a couple of weeks ago around bedtime... which turned into you "napping" on me for over an hour (sometimes 2) and me waking you up for your 9:30 bedtime... so I decided this week to just go ahead and put you to bed at 8:30.  I was a little nervous about it but you seem to appreciate it.  I have mixed feelings about this but it has been nice to have a little extra time to myself before my own bedtime.  Added benefit... you aren't waking up earlier... so solid 12 hours!  You are doing this on your stomach now though... you learned how to roll onto your stomach from your back first so you tend to do this at some point in the night and just stay there since you can't roll the other way yet.  It doesn't seem to matter but is pretty annoying during the day... I can't just lay you down to play with your toys for a few minutes anymore because you automatically roll to your stomach and get mad that you can't roll back.  

Clothes are mostly 6 month sizes now... you can still wear some things in 3 months especially if you are wearing a disposable diaper (size2).  This month we added a new object to your wardrobe.  HATS!!! We have been spending SO much time outside and I figured it would be good to protect your little bald head and have a little extra help protecting your eyes from the sun :).  You don't mind them at all thank goodness!

Right after you turned 4 months old, we hopped on a plane and took you to Kentucky.  There are just too many photos to share on this post alone so maybe I can get one done later :)  You traveled really well (slept) both on the plane and in the car.  You met several new people and loved every one of them!

Another big thing this month is that you have recognized the existence of the animals.  Up until this point, you have just stared through them... not even them touching you elicited a response.  Now, you want to pet them all.  The dogs in Ky did pretty well with you, but so far Zoe is the only cat that seems to not mind those tight tugs.  Remi is slowly warming up to you but not by much.

first time swinging... it went ok.  for a minute.

This past week you made a new friend.  Her name is Eliza.  Her parents go to our church.  Interesting fact:  the same doctor delivered both of you.  She is about a month older than you but a little bit smaller.  Whenever you see her, you lock onto her :).  

Your favorite things to do are fishhook our lips touch our faces, pull my hair, stand, and jump jump jump!  We borrowed the Jumperoo from Amanda last month and you enjoy it for a little bit at a time.  Gamma (my mom) bought you a doorway jumper last week and you like it on occasion... but most of all you like jumping on us... which means a workout for us :).  Who needs a gym?  Added to that cute little grin now is a pretty funny little laugh.  With that laugh, you have learned how to scream, and not always for joy ;-).

You are also grabbing your feet all the time and can sit up with very little help from us.  You love sitting up and watching things happen, laying down gets old really quick now.  

Last week Gamma and her friend Debi came in to visit for spring break.  We were out on the town!  You were such a good little travel buddy and loved getting to explore downtown Greenville with us!  We took a long walk at the Falls, ate out at a couple of restaurants, and went to an outdoors concert.  You hardly complained!

You are getting to be more temperamental and challenging (fussy butt) but you are really still such a laid back, sweet kid.  Snuggling doesn't happen quite as often because you want to be on the move a lot more but really that just helps get me off the couch :).  I love that you love being outside.  It makes me a lot less nervous about your fascination with the television.  Time with you feels like it creeps and speeds by all at the same time.  We can't believe how big you are getting so fast, but at the same time it feels like you have been with us forever.  I can't wait to see what this month holds!

a few must haves

Babies need a lot of stuff.  I have tried to be selective in some things (there's a lot of human history and this stuff hasn't always been around...do we really NEED it?) mostly because we are very limited on space and even more limited on storage space.  A few things I registered for... a few were 'learn as we go'... and a few were just given to us.  Nonetheless, the above items are things that have been invaluable.  

Of course there are the obvious things... pacis, bottles, stroller, car seat, clothes...  those aren't on this.  There are too many brands and babies are just way too different.  

These are the things I would recommend to ANYONE... because Myles loves them and so they have been mighty handy.

1.  Halo Sleepsacks.  We started out using the Summer Infant swaddle me... they were ok... but if I could go back... I would just start with this.  After a week, Myles was wiggling his arms out so they were pointless... Halo makes these with an optional swaddle that you can tuck their arms into or just fasten under their arms if they don't let you swaddle them.  We make do with 2 of these for whatever size he is in... baby laundry happens constantly so one of them is pretty much always clean useable.  I might try my hand at making them now that I have a sewing machine.  I have tried getting him to sleep without them since he has some really warm pajamas, but he can tell that he isn't wearing it.  

2.  the play gym.  An item that we did not register for but use all the time.  We have done tummy time on it using the little pillow that comes with it under his arms.  He has napped on it a few times.  It is a safe place to lay him for a few minutes if we need to set him down.  Now that he is older, he can reach all of the toys and we hang a few extras on it for him.  He LOVES this thing.  The little toys come off and go with us around the house and in the diaper bag instead of packing larger toys.

3.  Bright Starts lots o links.  I knew I wanted this.  We finally picked up the big pack of them for about $5 over a month ago.  We hang these on EVERYTHING.  He loves holding onto them in his stroller, reaching for them on the play gym, in his bouncy seat, gumming on them as teether rings.  They hold toys to the side of his crib and to his car seat when we are out and about.  So very handy.

4.  bibs.  Ok.  I know these are a pretty "duh" item.  I have to put them on here though.  You can't have enough of these.  SERIOUSLY.  These and burp cloths are the main reason we have to do baby laundry almost every day.  Myles spits up.  A LOT.  To try to minimize outfit changes, bibs are a major must.

5.  sensory toys.  We have the Zebra, Elephant, and Mortimer the Moose.  Zebra is his favorite... it was the first toy that he ever reached for.  Zebra travels with us.  The elephant is his crib companion, and the moose stays attached to the play gym.  These things are great... several toys in one.  Teethers, rattles, textures... these things have it all.

6.  the bouncy seat.  This one bounces itself and plays music.  For the first couple months, this was what I put Myles in while I showered... half the time he fell asleep in it while I got ready.  Strap him in and move him room to room.  Now he isn't too much a fan of being strapped in but sometimes I can get away with it when I attach toys to it and do interesting things to distract him... like landscaping.  I know he is safe and comfortable in it when I just need to set him down and know he isn't going to go rolling into something.

7.  books.  Specifically ones that rhyme.  Dr. Seuss books are pretty great... Myles loves the rhythm you get while reading One Fish Two Fish, The Cat in the Hat, and Green Eggs n Ham.  Not only does a good book like these calm him down, but he likes to "read" along in his babble even at this young an age.  I don't feel quite so silly reading to someone so small.  He may not understand anything I am saying but it is definitely a bonding time.

There are more things that we use a lot but these are what we really NEEDED for the past 4 months.  In a bare minimum kind of way.  What about you?