Five Months Old

Happy 5 Months to sweet Jake!

At 5 months old Jake was:

17 lbs 8 oz

27 inches

Jake is getting big!  He sits up well when assisted, he has rolled from his tummy to his back a handful of times but still isn't sure he is that into moving at all.  He sucks his thumb, not consistently the same hand or just his thumb, but you definitely see it go into his mouth in his crib or when he is getting tired. His sleeping is going great.  His night sleeping is so good that I don't even want to write about it.  The minute you publish that stuff it changes.  Lets just say since we did the sleep training around 4 months that he has really gotten the hang of things.  Rested baby and happy Mama.  There were a lot of firsts this month, the roll-over, facing out in the Bjorn carrier as well as the Bob stroller for the first times, and moves all over his crib.  I always put him down the same way, but he sometimes ends up with his feet where his head started.   He is still a great eater (obviously with those rolls!) and he pushes on my boob when he eats, just in a gentle, "this is good stuff Mom, thanks" kind of way.  He also takes breaks and looks up with huge smiles and sometimes coos.  He just likes a little conversation with his meals.  He giggles now and I basically spend all day trying to hear it.  He laughs at himself in the mirror, when you take off his shirt to change his clothes, or when you snort like a pig.  We also have a song we sing after diaper changes that is a shout out to Grampy, it goes like this "All tucked in and ready to go, ready to go, ready to go..." and then you just repeat it with the jazzy tune I made up.  He suddenly likes to put weight on his legs and when you have him stand in front of the mirror it is a double bonus.  He grabs for everything, anything he can reach and if it makes a new sound, even better.   He recently found his legs and I am sure his little feet will be soon discovered. Jake is a chatter box, he especially likes to talk first thing in the morning and around 5 at night before his bath.  He coos and chatters and likes to turn up the volume.  He can often be found "singing" himself to sleep, just letting it all out for the day.  When I feed him in the middle of the night and change his diaper he looks up at me with huge smiles in the dark room. He protests naps because he really just wants to snuggle.  He could be screaming his head off in the crib and the minute I walk in the door I get an ear to ear grin, little stinker knows what it sounds like when footsteps are on the stairs to come "save him."  We hold hands when he is in the Bjorn and bath time continues as a highlight in the day.  

Love doesn't seem like a word strong enough to capture how I feel about my buddy Jake.  I can't believe he is my son...how did I get so lucky?

Jake Month 5

Month 5 went the fastest by far.  We honestly were just standing in the pediatrician's office for his  4 month check-up and then boom - he is 5 months old!  This month has been a lot of fun and Jake just keeps getting cuter, and smarter, and even more lovable.  I didn't even think that was possible.  Our days pass quickly and as you can see from recent posts, we have a routine and things are pretty great all around.  Jake is sleeping like a champ, eating like a growing boy, and working on all kinds of other milestones.  I literally don't know what the heck I did all the time before I had a sidekick.
Sidekicks are the best. 

A Typical Day: 4 1/2 Months

I know it is the mundane that I will forget, just the stuff we would always do.  I know someday I'll want to tell "little boy Jake" what "baby Jake" did all day, so at 4 1/2 months old, here is what our days look like. 

6am to 7am

Jake wakes somewhere in this hour.  Usually there are some snuggles with me and some time with Papa before he leaves for work. He gets a clean diaper right away because the one he is wearing usually weighs 5lbs.  If I haven't showered yet then Jake lays on a blanket on the bathroom floor patiently cooing and chewing on stuff until I am done getting ready.  Then we go to his room and if he didn't eat when he woke up, he'll have something now, I put lotion on him, get in the first outfit of the day.

7am to 9am

Getting ready and play time fill the early morning.  Usually some rolling around in a diaper, some tummy time, and then its ready for his morning nap. He is ready about 90 minutes after he gets up. So we start the nap routine - new diaper, a few books (if he isn't already over tired and squirming), light goes out and I rock him and then bounce in the room a bit singing him a remix to "hush little baby." My lyrics involve "wine"....why? because it rhymed. 

I put him down awake and on a good day, he fusses a little and does his "wind down talking" (a series of babbles when he is getting ready to sleep) and he is out for 30 to 40 minutes.  On a bad day, he will cry off and on for 20 minutes and then take his nap.  

As soon as Jake is in his crib I run around the house like a crazy person getting after any chores so I can spend his awake time playing and talking with him.  This time usually involves blogging, laundry, bills, ironing, cleaning something, empty the dishwasher, dinner prep and eating my breakfast and having some tea. It is amazing how much I can accomplish in 30 - 60 minutes. 

9am to noon

This next block of time I think of as "activity time".  It is usually our longest stretch of the day to get out and do something.  Some days it might be planned, others I might just get an idea.  Lets be honest though, with this "type A mama" it is usually planned.  Almost always there is another feed, a walk to Starbucks, and diaper changes.  Then we might go meet friends or family, go shopping, go to Mom's Group, run errands, or grocery shop.

Jake will often take another 30 - 45 minute nap in the car seat, about 2 hours after he woke up from his morning nap.  

noon to 3pm

When we get home I am always anxious to get Jake out of the carseat and have some play time on the blanket. He also needs to eat again. I will put him in the bouncy seat in the kitchen while I make myself some lunch and then I sit on the kitchen floor and talk with him while I eat.  Most of my leave it has been the same, some kind of sandwich, a couple oranges, and a cookie...or 2...or 3.  I go through streaks where I only eat one kind of sandwich, for a while it was salami and pepper jack - right now it is a toasted peanut butter and jelly.

We will play on the blanket and practice sitting up and tummy time, look at ourselves in the mirror, sit in the bumbo seat and do raspberries at each other.  When I start to see his tired signs - rubbing his nose or eyes, fussing a bit and wanting to be held we will head upstairs for the nap routine again.  Another 30 to 45 minute nap. 

Undoubtedly he always wakes up and cries before he is really ready to get up, so when I go get him, we sit in the chair for a while and take our time getting ready for the rest of the day.  We then play some more and eat again.   

3pm to 6pm 

Once the afternoon nap is finished I don't usually drive anywhere.  I don't know why really...if something really had to get done I would, but at this point in the day it is just nice to read some stories, play some more and head out for a long walk.  In this new routine of naps I haven't figured out how to get my exercise in.  My husband so innocently pointed out to me the other morning that I had "all day" to get a run in...hmmm...if only it were that easy.   I've found that these walks can satisfy my urge to move and while the muscles in my legs are not what they used to be, priorities change.  Jake gets another late nap in, ending before 5pm, and about 30 minutes. 

We don't watch any tv all day, but around 5:30pm  I am usually trying to get the last of dinner going and am running out of steam, so I turn on Brian Williams and Jake gets caught up on current events for a few minutes.  Then maybe a couple more books before we head upstairs. 

Evening to bed time

Brian gets home between 5:30 and 6:30 on most nights.  He has some time with Jake before we start bath time and the night routine.  Bath time in our house is a full family affair.  Brian gets the tub and all the "accessories" ready.  I strip Jake down and get the pjs and clean diaper ready.  We get Jake in the tub, which he loves, and I wash his body and hair while Brian gives him his vitamins and holds his hand.  It is pretty cute.  I put lotion all over him when he is out and get a clean diaper and pjs on.  Brian cleans up from bath time and finishes up any work he needs to downstairs.  I take Jake in his room where I feed him, turn down the lights, sing my made-up songs and put him down.  Over night he will wake up once or twice to eat but he is an awesome sleeper.  Since he is in bed around 6:30 to 7pm then Brian and I can have some wine, enjoy dinner, chat, and watch some tv before we go to bed too.  I look forward to this time with my husband too. 

I treasure every second of the days with Jake.  Sometimes I feel like my heart will explode for the love I feel for him and Brian.  I get sad when I notice him getting bigger or acting more self-sufficient, but then I realize how much there is to look forward to.  I get to be this little man's mommy for the rest of his life.  I know he won't always look at his Mama like he does right now so everyday I take a mental picture of that smile and the way he lights up when I am around.  Baby Jake has rocked my world so irreversibly and if these typical days are my new days, then I am the luckiest Mama around to spend them with him. 

"OUR" maternity leave

When I was pregnant with Jake my Mom and I always referred to my upcoming leave as "OUR" maternity leave.  That seems like just yesterday.  Now little Jake is over 4 months old and my parents head to Palm Desert tomorrow until April 22nd, the day before I go back to work.  I'm going down for a sun-filled 10 days before that, but today marked the end of our time at home in Portland together. We were Portland tourists and we decided to do something we both had never done, ride the OHSU aerial tram.  On a beautiful spring like day I can't think of anything better.  Jake was pretty stoked about his ride too.  I think we took as many pictures of him as we did the view.  To top it off we enjoyed a little lunch from PB & J's, our favorite Portland food cart. 

Mama (Grammy) - Thank you for all of the fun the past few months.  I'm going to miss my buddy the next few weeks and I know Jake will miss his Grammy too.  

Some of my favorites memories of OUR maternity leave:

the 500 lattes you bought me (literally)

our walks

our overnight "vacations" to Grammy and Grampy's house - more good laughs here.

lunches at our favorite spots - Foster & Dobbs, PB& J's

shopping trips - Jake's first trip to Nordstrom (and many more to follow)

cooking a turkey

eating lots of your homemade cookies

eating pretty much every time I walked in your house since it was always the one thing that didn't get done in the morning

photo shoots with Jake using various props 

texting you every detail of "sleep train" week one

knowing every morning I would get a text asking "how was your night?" and getting a little sympathy when it wasn't the best

Most of all I have loved to watch my Mom become a Grandma, a seriously mushy-gushy Grammy and feel so lucky to have you to go to when I have a question or a completely irrational concern about my son. I love you lots and wouldn't give up the last 4 months for anything.  OUR maternity leave has been some of the best days of my life. 

Was he ever really this small?

In these pictures our sweet baby Jake was just one week and two days old.  It has only been 4 months, but I still can't believe he was ever this tiny.  Our favorite photographer, Mallary Olson, was at it again - capturing a really special time for our new little family of three.  These are some of my favorites from that day...and like any good family photo shoot, it wouldn't be complete if Brian didn't get his time in the spotlight.  

Four Months Old

Happy 4 Months to sweet Jake!

At 4 months old Jake was:

16 lbs

26 inches

Jake changed a lot this month.  He has new tricks nearly everyday.  He is always full of smiles, he loves to coo and babble.  He has figured out how to turn up the volume and is proud of himself with his squeals make us laugh.  He watches my every move and is still such a sweetie to lay on a blanket or sit in his chair and play while I get ready in the morning or make a little something to eat.  He is a snuggler.  He loves hugs and kisses.  He grabs at toys and holds onto them.  He has discovered "loveys" and has a monkey that he is always holding onto or eating.  He is a great nurser, only takes about 20 minutes to feed him now and he eats about 7 times a day.  He loves to be on the move, he now stares out the window in the carseat, which is adorable.  He is big enough to be in the Ergo and look around.  He is still a good night sleeper, but he was getting harder and harder to put back to sleep after he ate.  His naps are irregular and not very long and we discovered the only way to get him to sleep a couple of hours was to wear him in the Ergo around the house or on a walk.  He would sleep for 2 hours.  We felt we owed it to Jake so we had to break our bad habits and help him learn to sleep on his own.  That has been tough and you can see more about it here.

Jake can roll up on his side and gets stronger all the time.  On his tummy he will get up on his arms and put his chest in the air.  His head is strong and he just started sitting in his Bumbo chair.  He is the sweetest little boy, always giving smiles to strangers when we are out and about.  I treasure every single day with my friend Jake.

Jake Month 4

One thing is for sure, I take a lot of pictures.  I guess it is one of our activities, Jake being cute, Mommy with the phone or camera in his face.  In Jake's 4th month we had a lot of fun.  He is my little buddy and everyday was a new adventure.  We kept up some of our routines of morning runs and Starbucks visits.  We shopped with Grammy and spent Friday mornings with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Butch. We went for a week to Grammy and Grampy's and got spoiled rotten.  Jake had his first Valentine's day and lots of snuggles with Mom and Papa.  This little baby is becoming a little person and I love him more everyday.  I tried to narrow it down, but as you can see I have a tough time editing.  Jake is doing all kinds of new tricks that I will share more about when we celebrate his birthday!