5-Months Old

Where has the time gone??? It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant...now Sammy is 5 months old :0/ It's going too fast!

Samuel has had a BIG month! Thankfully he recovered from his bout with broncolitis! He gets bigger each day! We are still breastfeeding...ALL THE TIME it seems! But we really are on a much better schedule. He takes a nap every two hours or so...IN HIS CRIB!

We started working on crib training this month. The first few months Samuel slept wherever he would sleep! In a swing, bouncy seat, car seat, on my lap, on Eric's chest...but he's getting so big we needed to work on the crib pronto! I realized I didn't have a the heart to let him cry it out or to ferberize him...so I bought the, "No Cry to Sleep" book. It's the bible for wimpy mom's like me who can't take their little ones crying. The book tells you up front that it isn't an overnight solution, but we are seeing vast improvements. When we started putting him in his crib, Samuel would get me up 6-8 times a night. We are now down to two or three times a night with sleeping increments of up to 4 hours!!!! YIPPEE!!! I finally feel like my old self. Less zombie like, remembering to brush my hair, get dressed, and brush my teeth daily. It's amazing what a little sleep can do for you!

During his 5th month, Samuel also learned how to sit up. He isn't a pro yet...but he's getting there! And so cute when he does it! I ented a photo of him in a contest of him sitting up just for fun, and because he is so cute!

His personality is really starting to come out too. He is much more interactive and expressive. I'm so thankful that he has such a great personality! He LOVES to laugh and he keeps crying reserved for tiredness or boredom. He'll play most any game...but loves to play peek-a-boo with a blanket! He is also a champion raspberry blower, a babbler, and likes to shake his head No to EVERYTHING. His absolute favorite thing to do though is go for a walk. Thankfully spring has arrived in Maryland so we usually take two walks a day. Sometimes we just sit on the back porch. He loves to sit in his bouncy and play with his feet. We also have pulled out a sit and spin toy for him. Though it is oversized and takes up half of our den, HE LOVES IT! He likes to play the piano on it and can turn the pages back and forth. He also thinks it is neat to sit upright!

Granny B and Grandpa came up for a visit from Virginia. My dad helped Eric put new flooring down in our living room. My mom helped me with Samuel...it was such a nice break! I was able to do laundry, sort out some cabinets, and take a nap! In the meantime, she was able to help him work through some seperation anxiety. Samuel spent the past two months screaming if I left the room. Since their visit Samuel is much more content and will humor himself!

Samuel has also developed a fascination with the dogs! He LOVES when they come close to him...he likes to try to reach out and touch them. They don't seem impressed and usually just give him a sniff and then wander off. But he gives them a big drooly grin every time he see's them.

We also started baby foods and cereals. It wasn't easy nor without a lot of effort. We started with rice cereal. He ate it, and then didn't sleep well until I realized it was the cereal making him gassy and irritable. So we waited two weeks with the same outcome. While my parents were in town we tried oatmeal. He likes the oatmeal...until 11pm when he woke up screaming and projectile vomited on me, the rocking chair, and himself. It was everywhere. So we stopped that! Two weeks later we switched to sweet potatos and have found a winner! He eats a half of tablespoon each morning...I use the word eats very loosely. Mainly it is on his face, in his hair and in his ears. He loves the spoon...and I usually let him make the mess! He's too cute!

Over Easter weekend we met Uncle Ricky and Mandy in Hagerstown for some shopping and lunch. The easter bunny was very good to Samuel with a big sand bucket of clothes and toys. His favorite are the crinkly blocks. My favorite was the sunglasses!

Samuel looks more and more like Eric with each passing day. I was disappointed to see though that of all the features that Sammy got of mine it was his eyes. I thought he would keep Eric's blue eyes, but he got mine! His eyes are beautiful though! AND I was over the moon when we were at a yard sale and a lady said to me, "He has your eyes!" It's good to know after 40+ weeks of carrying him that at least he has a little part of me in him!

Sammy can be quite the daddy's boy though. He grins when Eric comes home from work and cries until Eric plays with him and holds him. Their favorite game is dancing cheek to cheek and having light shows in the bedroom while I take a shower. It's quite the boys club...they let me join in, but I usually don't...I want their bond to be as close as possible.

I can't believe Samuel will be 6 months old tomorrow. It's such a shock to see how big Samuel is getting, how funny he is, and how sweet and cuddly he is. I knew I wanted a baby, but now that I have Samuel I cannot believe how much this little boy has became my entire world. I eat, sleep and breathe Sammy. He's the most amazing thing that has happened to me and to Eric. I'm looking forward to seeing what 6-months has in store for us. Teeth? A trip to Virginia? His first word? Crawling? Two years ago if you would have asked me if any of these small milestones would be so exciting and monumental I would have probably rolled my eyes and expressed a desire to go back to the Carribbean...now I have well over a thousand photos and videos trying to capture every single moment and milestone of Sammy. I don't want to miss a thing. Sometimes when we nap together I look at Eric and Sammy cuddled up and I'm so thankful.