Our baby boy will be 5 months old on Saturday! When did that happen?! Each stage just gets better, and this one is definitely my favorite so far. Charlie’s little personality is coming through more and more every day and he’s just so much fun!

Growth

Our boy is long and lean, folks! He’s about 27 inches long and almost 14 pounds. We had to add in a few extra feedings for a couple weeks when his growth curve dipped, but he caught right up and now we’re back on track.

Feeding

So far I have been exclusively breastfeeding, but we did try solids for the first time last week. Charlie hated it but it was still really fun! We tried sweet potatoes, and let’s just say he wasn’t a big fan. I’m not sure if it was the texture, the taste, or just the fact that it was something totally new, but he literally did a full body shudder. This week we tried pureed bananas and he seemed to like those better, although he still seems unsure about this whole eating thing. (By the way, you’re going to want to watch the video of his first food experience. It’s hilarious! View it here or here.)

Sleeping

If you read my PSA to new moms, you know I’m a big advocate of Moms on Call. Thanks to this schedule, Charlie has been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks. When we had to add in a couple of nighttime feedings for those two weeks, it was like torture. After getting so used to sleeping 8 hours a night, it was hard for me to go back to middle of the night feedings. But luckily we got through that and Charlie went right back to sleeping through the night with no problems.

Charlie is a great night sleeper…napping, not so much. He naps ok at home, but basically refuses to sleep more than 15 minutes at daycare. I was hoping that he would get used to the chaos and distraction by now, but so far that hasn’t happened. Luckily it doesn’t affect his nighttime sleep.

Development

I’m so thankful to say that we have a mostly happy baby. He has a typical “witching hour” from about 7-8 p.m., but we’re usually able to keep he entertained until he eats and goes right to sleep at 8.

Charlie has been rolling for several weeks, and loves to roll onto his stomach to sleep. He’s got great head and neck control, usually wants to stand, and is starting to try to sit up on his own. He smiles and babbles all the time, but has not started laughing consistently.

Favorites

If he starts to get upset, Charlie can usually be calmed by being talked or sung to. He loves to hear voices and music. The Itsy Bitsy Spider is by far his favorite song. His Wubbanubs (or “wubbies”) are never far from reach. He can be entertained for a good 20 minutes on his play mat/gym and has gotten really good at grabbing the hanging toys. And bath time is still a favorite.