Gideon: 5 Month Update

Gideon is 5 months old!

I tell him all the time–“you are the cutest baby, ever!” and, in this mama’s eyes, he is! He is so sweet, and funny these days. I love that he has started flailing his little arms and legs. He gets so excited that he windmills his arms, and you can hear them go “plop, plop, plop” as they land on his chubby thighs. His eyes are so incredibly expressive, and he’s very good at communicating his needs. He still is really good at being handed off to other people, and most of the time when we leave the house he is overjoyed to go somewhere new, and smiles at everybody we see.

He is a very solid little guy, and everyone who picks him up remarks on that fact. I’ve got a lot more muscle in my arms than I did five months ago. 😉

When he was born, we thought he was such a chill little guy. He seemed so mellow, and relaxed. While he still has moments of being this way, we are seeing a lot more of a mischievous character emerge these days. He’s got quite a sense of humor, and loves to laugh.

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Age: 5 months

Weight: 19.1 lbs (he gained another 2.1 lbs this past month! He’s consistently gained about 2 lbs a month for the past few months, and is now in the 95th percentile for his age)

What to expect this month: By the fifth month, baby will be working on sitting up (yep!), the average baby boy is 16.6 pounds (we’ve got a chunky baby on our hands), baby will start to turn his head when he hears noise (yep! It is getting harder to nurse in public–he gets super distracted really easily), he should start to imitate sounds soon (I can’t wait!), and crawling is on the horizon most babies crawl between 6 and 10 months. Eep!

What to expect next month: By 6 months baby will be more opinionated and will probably scream when someone other than mom holds him (we shall see! He’s been super friendly, and lets just about anyone hold him up until now), he should recognize his name (cool!), will go through another growth spurt, and will start passing toys from one hand to the other.

On a personal note, I am SO excited for the 6 month mark, because I can start wearing Gideon facing out in my Lillebaby carrier (up until then, his back isn’t developed enough so it is unsafe), we will start solid foods, and he can be in the jogging stroller while I run! Although I probably won’t take him for any runs until it is much warmer outside. Hopefully spring is early this year!

Teeth: Gideon got his first two teeth this past month! They are just barely beginning to poke through. He hasn’t seemed to be in any teething pain lately, which is a relief! He had some rough days here or there when his mouth was really bothering him. Poor guy.

Clothing size: He’s wearing 6-9 month onesies/sleepers and 9 month pants (he cannot fit into 6 month pants at all, he has the chubbiest little legs). 

Favorite clothes: I had so much fun dressing him up in a little santa outfit for Christmas, and a bunch of Christmas pants and onesies. It was such a delight! Other than that, I’ve started putting him in more long-sleeved onesies and soft, stretchy pants these days and less sleepers. I don’t really like little pairs of jeans right now, because they seem so constricting for the little guy. 

Diaper size: He is still in size 3s, although I kind of wish I moved him up to size 4s before I ordered a big shipment of diapers from Amazon. I think he’ll be moving up pretty soon, because we’ve had a blow out or two wish is signaling to me that he needs a bigger size diaper.

Firsts: Gideon had his very first Christmas! We really had three Christmases–we celebrated with my Mom’s side of the family (about forty people) first, then we went to my parents’ house for Christmas day, and then we celebrated when all my siblings were in town the week after Christmas. Gideon was so sweet to everyone! He was happily passed around from relative to relative, and did really well despite not having very long naps. After the Young family Christmas (my Mom’s family) he was so tuckered out by the end of the day that he slept for 6.5 hours! And then he slept in until 9!! That was fantastic. 🙂 It was really fun to see him with all my loved ones, and to see him interact with all his siblings. He was so enamored by his little cousin Ellie, who will be 2 in February, that he stood straight up and spit in her face over and over again. It was so funny! He was just trying to show off, I think, and we just laughed at him! He would make bubbles with his mouth and spit them, and she would wipe her face and smile up at him. Ha ha!

Worries: I still haven’t been able to stay on top of my home like I would like to! It is so hard to keep all the plates in the air, and I feel constantly behind. 

Sleeping: He still wakes up several times a night to nurse, but since we are cosleeping I feel like I am just sleepwalking through the whole experience. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many times he wakes up or when, but I can tell you that he goes to bed generally by 8ish, and is up for the day by 7 usually. He naps 2-3 times a day for about 3 hours total. I feel really rested most of the time, so I think I’m getting a lot better quality sleep these days, even if he does still wake up a few times. 

Feeding: Not much to report here! Still exclusively breastfeeding, and we both feel like old pros. 

Purchases I’ve made: We bought some baby monitors, because when we were at other people’s houses I really felt nervous about laying him down to sleep in a bedroom, and not being able to hear him as well as in our tiny apartment. They will also come in handy once it gets warmer outside, and I can go sit on our porch or work in our garden during nap time.

My brother and his wife gave us a Dyson vacuum cleaner!! It has a crack in it, which we are going to work on fixing, but I already (carefully) used it to vacuum and it was such a pleasure to use! It is such a blessing that they gifted it to us.

On a related note, we received our last check from Christian Healthcare Ministries so Gideon’s expensive birth is now paid in full! Wahoo! I am working on a post all about my experience using CHM, so be on the lookout for that soon.

What he likes: He loves being surprised, because he dearly loves to laugh. He has really enjoyed the pack n’ play this month! I put a mobile on top to hold toys, and he will play in there anywhere from 15-45 minutes at a time sometimes! He really seems to like playing in it a lot better than he ever has liked his baby gym. He loves going in our bathroom and looking at all the mirrors and bottles on the counter. He loves it when his Papa swings him or “flies” him all over the apartment. He loves playing peekaboo, when his mama hides and then pops out and says “Boo!!”, and any funny noises. He really loves meeting new people. 

What he doesn’t like: He doesn’t love being left by himself. He is really good being held by other people, but when he decides he’s had enough and wants his mama, he really wants his mama. He doesn’t like that he can’t crawl yet. He wants to be on the go, but he can’t figure out how to hoist that belly off the ground yet.

Don’t want to forget: How good-natured he is most the time with other people, how he will smile and laugh at anybody who will talk to him, the way his dark eyes open wide when he sees something new and squint half closed when he’s really happy, how incredibly happy he is to play peek-a-boo with his mama.

Things I’m looking forward to: I look forward to every day with this little squirt. He is just such a joy, and I am really having fun! I can’t wait for it to get warm enough outside that we can start going on walks, and I can go jogging with him in the stroller. 

How’s Mama? I’m starting to get into a bit of a routine! I have gotten out a bit more by myself this month–a quick visit to Goodwill here or there, running to the grocery store to shop or even going to Starbucks to work on my blog work. I’m not gone very long, but it is amazing how just an hour here or there can really boost my spirits, and leave me incredibly refreshed when I come back home. 

What’s going on in your house this week?