Adventures with Zilla: 5 Months

How old?: 5 Months!

Weight/Height:  At his last appointment he weighed 17 lbs and was 27 inches long.  This put him in the 65th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for length.   

Baby clothes:  
Zilla is wearing some of his 3-6 month outfits still but primarily he's in 6 month clothes. He can also pull off 9 months clothes without looking like he's swimming in them.  He's moved onto size 3 diapers.

Milestones: 
He has hit so many milestones this past month; I can't even believe how much has happened in such a short amount of time.  His reaching and grabbing skills are excellent and he is the most curious little guy.  He wants to touch everything.  
Zilla went through a major growth spurt when he was 4 months and 1 week old.  It lasted the full week and just about resulted in us starting on formula.  HE ATE SO MUCH.  The weekend it started we would feed, play for an hour, feed again, sleep a little and then feed again.  We were eating at least every two hours.  I was getting a little worried about it as the weekend was coming to an end because I didn't know if I could keep up with him by pumping at work.  And I could not.  He was eating about 18 oz at daycare and I was pumping 8 at the most.  Oddly, the week he was eating the most was the week I seemed to be pumping the least.  In that week alone he gained almost 2 pounds.
He is rolling over back to front and front to back all the time now; it's his preferred mode of travel.  Already I can turn my head for one second and he's moved across our floor by rolling over a few times.  

Zilla also has at least one tooth!  Which is exciting but mostly painful...teeth and breastfeeding are an interesting little combination.  He doesn't like feeding from my right side very much and I think he's learned that if he just bites me on that side I'll switch him to the left.  Sneaky little booger.

Special outings
 No long trips this month, but we were able to go out and about more  We've been able to successfully take Zilla to restaurants with us.  He's also pretty good at Mass as long as we go during the morning times.  
Towards the end of the month we went to a baby shower for one of my dearest friends.  I haven't seen her in so long and it was just wonderful to celebrate with her! Zilla was wonderful and quite a big hit at the shower. 

Zilla went for his first swim in a big pool!  On the 4th, his daddy brought him into the pool at my sister's house.  He was such a little cutie and very relaxed about the whole experience.

Highlights of the month: 

 Nina came to visit us over the July 4th weekend!  She brought with her a rug for our living room so that as Zilla learns to crawl his little legs won't get bruised from our hard floors. 
We spent our first 24 hour period away from Zilla this month.  It was so hard, but a lot of fun.  Jason and I took a little staycation to the Adolphus in downtown Dallas.  We went to Shakespeare in the Park that night and just did a little relaxing.  It was nice to have the little break and some time to ourselves but coming home to our baby's smiling face was the best part!  
Seeing Zilla with his cousins.  It's so much fun to be parents with my siblings!  It has brought us all closer together, or at least a new kind of close.  It's like when we used to play house, except now it's for real. 

Baby's routine (this section is included for any new mom's who like me, wondered, what should a baby's schedule look like at this age?  You have so many baby books that tell you all about sleeping patterns of a newborn, but as they get older it's harder and harder to find information about schedules):
We're slowly getting this routine thing down.
Wake up: 7:15am
Nap: 9:00 am-11:00 am
    Eat/Play: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Nap: 1:00pm - 3:00 pm

Eat Play: 3:00 pm - 5:45 pm 

Nap: This nap is usually a little shorter than his morning naps 5:45 - 6:30 or 7

Eat Play: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

8:30 - Bath time / get ready for bed

9:00 pm feed and put to sleep

Overnight he'll usually wake up one or two time to eat and "should" go directly to sleep.

The routine is pretty consistent throughout the week, but we're not quite as strict about it on the weekends.  But in general, it's best if he can get in two 1.5-2 hour naps during the day.  One week this month he was having trouble sleeping through the night and woke about every 2-3 hours.  After feeding he was also being stubborn about going to bed.  We're guessing that he was teething during this time 

Baby's favorite food: breast milk. 

Baby's favorite activity: 
Rolling.  While we're playing on the ground, while I'm trying to change him, while he's lying in bed.  This kid loves to roll.   

Baby's favorite toy: His play mat and his exersaucer  

Big changes:
His ability to get around.  Even though he's not crawling, just the rolling is allowing him to get to places/things he wants to go.  We are slowly starting to remove the swaddle from his sleeping routine.  Right now it's primarily at night.  We still put the swaddle over his legs and wrap them up, but we're leaving his arms out.  So far it's going alright.  It has been a little harder to transition this to his daytime naps because he is less willing to go to sleep and too ready to play with everything he can get his hands on.  Therefore it's more necessary to wrap them up too.  

Mommy Journal

Let me just say, I have become an expert pumper.  Going to work and Zilla's ridiculous growth spurt forced me to become comfortable pumping pretty much anywhere, anytime.  I regularly pump on my way to work, yes while driving, and sometime on my way back.  I have pumped while watching a movie at the theater, and I pumped while at Shakespeare in the Park.  No, not by going to the bathroom, I stayed in my seat and did not miss any of the show.  Is it possible that someone has looked over at me and thought "What the what is she doing?"  Sure.  But I don't really care.  My son's gotta eat and my breasts need release.  I will say, when we went to North Park this month they have a very nice lactation room.  It has a cozy chair, changing station, and a sink where you can wash off your supplies.  I really appreciate accommodations like this. 

I love watching Zilla grow up.  It never ceases to amaze me how ready he is to learn and how curious he is.  He wants to hold everything and the moment he learns a new skill he loves practicing over and over.  It's just incredible to watch this little life that was in my belly not too long ago grow up so fast.