William at 5 Months

It is true what people say about how fast time flies by once you become a parent. I've heard it described as the 'mommy blur' and that is such an apt description! Each day melts into the next until one morning you wake up and realize that 5 whole months have flown past! Wasn't I JUST pregnant? Where has the time gone? The real, true indicator of time is how much William has changed in these last few months (weeks even!). Every day brings mastery over a new skill.

 A few days ago, I was reflecting back on our first month together, and remembered all the things he used to do that he no longer does. For example, he'd get the hiccups 5 or 6 times each day (now its more like 0-1), he'd spit up constantly (we'd go through 20 spit up cloths a day, easily. Now its one or none.), he would cluster feed at night, eating every 30-45 minutes until bedtime (now that interval is blessedly longer), and when he would eat, my milk would come out too fast for him, and he would spit out the excess milk, soaking a cloth I kept beneath his head just for that purpose (now he can handle my fast flow).

Some of the new things he is doing these days include talking to me when he is done eating, eating way less frequently (every 2-3 hours instead of every hour), laughing and smiling more, grabbing and playing with toys with much more dexterity and skill, making all sorts of screeching sounds, and moving his knees back and forth in a crawling motion while doing tummy time (not actually moving anywhere yet though!). Plus all of the plentiful brown hair that he was born with has fallen out and been replaced with fine, very light blonde hair! He can roll over both ways (and does so semi-frequently), stand supported for several minutes at a time and sit supported. He can't yet sit on his own (and shows very little interest in doing so), but hopefully that will happen soon!

He is also able to identify sequences of events and is able to anticipate what comes next. Our routine in the morning is for me to change his diaper, remove his pajamas and put on clothes for the day (including socks), and then feed him. He is so used to this routine now, that several times, as I went to put his socks on his feet, he has held up one foot to have the sock put on, and then the other foot. He is helping me to dress him!

We have also made some brief forays into the world of solid foods lately. He's tried both baby oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes, with mixed results. The first time we tried sweet potatoes, it was a huge success! He seemed to really enjoy them and repeatedly opened his mouth for more. Since then we've tried them two more times and he seemed to enjoy the texture slightly less. Last night however, we tried baby oatmeal mixed with breast milk for the first time, and he really seemed to enjoy that. I plan to really jump into solids in another month, but for now, I am just glad that he is willing to accept new foods, and even enjoy them.


Another recent development is a new found fear of loud noises. Suddenly overnight, he became terrified of both the vacuum and hair dryer. I have worked with him to get him gradually used to these monstrously loud devices and have had some small success. I still have to comfort him and hold him close while they are in operation however. Our final change lately is a shift in our established nap routine. For the longest time (until 4 months old), he would do a one hour nap in the morning at about 9am, then another 4 hour nap in the afternoon, from noon to 4pm (so sleeping for a total of 5 hours each day). One day Will started refusing to keep this routine, and our new schedule is a nap in the morning (still at 9am or so), and then from noon until 4:30, he will sleep for an hour, and be awake for an hour. His napping hours now total around 3 to 4 hours (on a good day). We are attempting to get him to nap in his crib instead of his swing, and are slowly making inroads toward that end.


William has been growing like crazy lately and now weighs a little over 16 pounds, is 26.5 inches long and has a head circumference of 16.75 inches. That is an increase of over two pounds, more than an inch of length and a half an inch increase in head circumference in three weeks!