Paul Daniel: Five Months

At five months, Paul is a perfect growing boy! He had his wellness checkup last month and is almost 20lbs! He’s now in size 3 diapers and 6-9 months for clothing; very few 3-6 month clothes fit him.

Paul has been a super vocal (and happy) baby from day one, but he’s definitely becoming a little chatterbox, just like his sister. He’s learning to use his voice to get our attention, especially when he wants to play. It’s so cute. I can’t get enough of his happy sounds and smiles.

No rolling over yet but he’s been working on the movements and is so close. He loves spending time on his play-mat kicking his chunky little legs and grabbing all the things. He’s a big fan of tummy time too.

Sleeping

Paul is officially sleeping in his crib in the nursery! Even though the SNOO has a weaning feature, both kids didn’t really care for it, so we put them into their cribs cold turkey and within a week they were acclimated.

He’s also sleeping through the night, and we’ve dropped the dream feed. And now that he’s settled into his new sleep situation he’s napping and napping hard! I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have a baby that sleeps so well!

Feeding

I remember the time between months four and five with Lily was heartbreaking for me. By then I had officially stopped nursing her, my supply was completely dried up, and I was so sad because I missed that bonding time; she is so independent! With Paul, being able to nurse him was a second chance, and I’ve done a lot to make that happen.

I’m happy to report that I’m still nursing and still producing milk to pump. I don’t show any signs of slowing down despite my period returning. My goal was six months so we’ll see how long I can go.

Teething has been kicking his butt lately which has made nursing difficult for him, but if I’m not nursing I’m pumping so he’s getting mama’s milk either way.

We’ve now started to introduce solids to the mix, and at first, he wasn’t so sure how he felt about all these new flavors.

He’s come around though because he recently downed a whole pouch of pureed mangos!

Favorites

Maty’s Organic Baby Teething Oil – We used this stuff with Lily and it helped a ton, so now we’re using it with Paul. He’s all drama when it comes to taking his ibuprofen and doesn’t really care for teethers, so this is keeping him comfortable.

Nanit Breathing Band – Now that he’s not swaddled, we can use the Nanit breathing band to monitor his breathing. He sleeps hard, so it definitely gives us peace of mind.

Hatch Rest Sound Machine – We have one in Lily’s room and one in Paul’s room, and they do a fantastic job of keeping the rooms quiet. Joshua and I tag-team bedtime, so I’m usually putting Paul to sleep while Joshua winds Lily down. When I’m in his room nursing him to sleep with the sound machine, I don’t hear any toddler squeals.