5-Month Update

It's so hard to believe that Matthew is 5 months old. Here are some updates:

Grasping: Very active. He sees, he grabs, and he generally puts it in his mouth. It is whatever. He is very much on target in grabbing what he sees. I put several of his toys on the changing table to distract him from grabbing MY sleeve. One favorite toy is his bear from Aunt Sally.

Motor skills: He flails his arms and kicks his legs. Anything he grabs onto should be very soft or it could end up hurting him or us!

Separation: He hates being put down in the day and for the night. I guess all babies are like this. But he really puts forth a pitiful cry, like "puh-LEEEEEESE don't leave me!!!!!" Makes Mommy want to cry, too. Listen now to the MP3. (321 Kb)

Sleeping: Generally, pretty good at night. Goes through spells in which he will sleep for 7-8 hours for several nights, then goes back to 5-6 hours. He usually takes a late morning nap for 1-2 hours and an unpredictable afternoon nap. As of this week, goes to bed between 7:30-8 p.m.

Eating: He's made it through rice cereal, oatmeal, and now, barley. Doesn't like barley much. Jim seems to do better with this than I do. It's pretty much time to try something else, like green beans! We try to do this twice a day, but sometimes he's not in the mood, usually because he's nursed first and isn't hungry. Diaper time is also beginning to get a little more challenging. :-)

Vocalizing: He's still "chattering" a lot. In the morning, especially, he talks happily in his crib.

Sitting up: He seems to really want this. When in his swing, he leans forward, trying to sit up. When playing with him, we pull him up a lot. He gets a happy look on his face when pulled to sitting. I imagine there will be pictures of this soon.