Zach, five months ago today: The first time I held him after he was released to me from the NICU. He was about 5 hours old.
Zach now, at 5 months old.Today, Zach is five months old. And he's still my angel.
He reaches for, and grabs anything and everything around him. And he now has enough coordination that everything makes its way to his mouth now. He gets frustrated when he drops a toy and will voice his displeasure until we retrieve it for him. And he gets seriously pissed if he cannot reach whatever has piqued his interest.
He rolls in both directions now, making tummy time nearly impossible. You can put him on a blanket with toys on the floor and he will roll and inch his way all around until he is somewhere else entirely.
He eats like a madman and takes about 6 6-ounce feedings a day. Of those, 2 are formula and the rest are breastmilk. In an effort to satisfy him more, we have tried cereal. Rice first. Mixed with water, mixed with formula, mixed with breastmilk---you name it--he has no interest. So we tried Barley and got the same result. Actually, the barley was worse: he actually shuddered at the taste.
On the sleeping front, he goes to bed at about 7:30/ 8:00 and wakes at about 6:30. This hasn't changed. The only thing different is that he fights sleep more. He still has to be swaddled and have a pacifier to sleep. But once off to Dreamland, he pretty much stays there, except for when I am off. Then it is like he has some internal sensor that tells him I am here, in the house, and he wakes at about 5:00. I secretly love this time: John and Evan are still asleep and I get to cuddle and talk to him--just the two of us.
He still loves the Moby Wrap, but instead of the positions I used for him when he was a newborn, I have to use holds that allow him to observe the world around him. It still works, but I am thinking about purchasing another type of carrier to use in addition to it. One less complicated that perhaps John will use as well without being intimidated. He still refuses to use the Moby, saying the wraps look too complicated.
Zach's blue eyes are here to stay. They are actually getting lighter in color. He has lost all of his newborn hair except for a tiny patch at his neck in the back. His real hair is coming in and is just the same texture, and even stands up like his newborn hair did. Except this hair is actually a strawberry blonde color, which I find hilarious. His head is so soft and fuzzy that I cannot keep from rubbing my cheek against it when I am holding him. It's that irresistible.
He "talks" all of the time. "Gheeeeeeeee!" in varying octaves, decibels, and tones based on his mood. My favorite is when I return from work and he sees me. Then it is more of a soft, lilting sound that tells me that, despite my crazy hours at work, he knows I am his mother, he loves me, knows I love him, and is genuinely happy to see me. Incidentally, he doesn't do this with John, but instead is more excited, showing me that there is a different dynamic between mother-son and father-son relationships. Not better or worse. Just different, which is very interesting to me at such a young age.
He loves his big brother and his big brother loves him.
He's wearing anything from 3 months to 6-9 months size-wise. The different brands run so differently! Regardless, he is so different from Evan at this age. Evan was tiny and petite. Zach is chubby. Short, but chubby. At 15 lbs., he weighs more than Evan did at one year. Any evidence of his prematurity, both size-wise and development-wise, is long gone.
People say he looks like John and Evan. While there are some resemblances, I don't think he looks like either. Truthfully? He looks like my mom. I see more of her in him daily, which is slightly eery to me considering I found out his lungs were ready and my nightmare was ending on her birthday--May 12--and he was born the day after. My emerald baby. Nobody sees this but me because the people in my life came in after she passed away. I don't know what I believe, but either she sent him to me or he is her reincarnated.
He reaches for, and grabs anything and everything around him. And he now has enough coordination that everything makes its way to his mouth now. He gets frustrated when he drops a toy and will voice his displeasure until we retrieve it for him. And he gets seriously pissed if he cannot reach whatever has piqued his interest.
He rolls in both directions now, making tummy time nearly impossible. You can put him on a blanket with toys on the floor and he will roll and inch his way all around until he is somewhere else entirely.
He eats like a madman and takes about 6 6-ounce feedings a day. Of those, 2 are formula and the rest are breastmilk. In an effort to satisfy him more, we have tried cereal. Rice first. Mixed with water, mixed with formula, mixed with breastmilk---you name it--he has no interest. So we tried Barley and got the same result. Actually, the barley was worse: he actually shuddered at the taste.
On the sleeping front, he goes to bed at about 7:30/ 8:00 and wakes at about 6:30. This hasn't changed. The only thing different is that he fights sleep more. He still has to be swaddled and have a pacifier to sleep. But once off to Dreamland, he pretty much stays there, except for when I am off. Then it is like he has some internal sensor that tells him I am here, in the house, and he wakes at about 5:00. I secretly love this time: John and Evan are still asleep and I get to cuddle and talk to him--just the two of us.
He still loves the Moby Wrap, but instead of the positions I used for him when he was a newborn, I have to use holds that allow him to observe the world around him. It still works, but I am thinking about purchasing another type of carrier to use in addition to it. One less complicated that perhaps John will use as well without being intimidated. He still refuses to use the Moby, saying the wraps look too complicated.
Zach's blue eyes are here to stay. They are actually getting lighter in color. He has lost all of his newborn hair except for a tiny patch at his neck in the back. His real hair is coming in and is just the same texture, and even stands up like his newborn hair did. Except this hair is actually a strawberry blonde color, which I find hilarious. His head is so soft and fuzzy that I cannot keep from rubbing my cheek against it when I am holding him. It's that irresistible.
He "talks" all of the time. "Gheeeeeeeee!" in varying octaves, decibels, and tones based on his mood. My favorite is when I return from work and he sees me. Then it is more of a soft, lilting sound that tells me that, despite my crazy hours at work, he knows I am his mother, he loves me, knows I love him, and is genuinely happy to see me. Incidentally, he doesn't do this with John, but instead is more excited, showing me that there is a different dynamic between mother-son and father-son relationships. Not better or worse. Just different, which is very interesting to me at such a young age.
He loves his big brother and his big brother loves him.
He's wearing anything from 3 months to 6-9 months size-wise. The different brands run so differently! Regardless, he is so different from Evan at this age. Evan was tiny and petite. Zach is chubby. Short, but chubby. At 15 lbs., he weighs more than Evan did at one year. Any evidence of his prematurity, both size-wise and development-wise, is long gone.
People say he looks like John and Evan. While there are some resemblances, I don't think he looks like either. Truthfully? He looks like my mom. I see more of her in him daily, which is slightly eery to me considering I found out his lungs were ready and my nightmare was ending on her birthday--May 12--and he was born the day after. My emerald baby. Nobody sees this but me because the people in my life came in after she passed away. I don't know what I believe, but either she sent him to me or he is her reincarnated.
2 days ago, he did the "Pick me up, Mommy" arm reach for the first time and it melted my heart.
I guess that's all. Next up: 6 months, or the halfway point in his first year. Where did the time go???
I guess that's all. Next up: 6 months, or the halfway point in his first year. Where did the time go???
Happy 5-month birthday to Zach! He gets more adorable by the day.
ReplyDeleteWhat swaddle blanket/sack do you use? Do you have to swaddle him because his of his arms/hands? We use a blanket but Cole always gets out of it and has to be reswaddled numerous times a night. I was just looking into something called The Woombie. Ever heard of it?
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe still use the Kiddopotamus (sp?) brand that was given to us from a coworker. I have all kinds of materials from really thin jersey to flannel to thick fleece. I never put much thought into why Zach sleeps better with them, but I guess his hands would be the answer--when he is drifting off, he grasps at everything nonpurposefully and will yank his pacifier out, which he only uses to sleep. As he gets bigger, I like the stretchy materials better--enough give that he has wiggle room no matter how snug. He gets the one hand loose for John, but never for me. I put him in the sack part so his legs are folded up and the velcro tab is right at his chin, then I fold his arms so his hands are on his chest, wrapping the one tab all the way around pretty snugly, then pull the other one over it and velcro it. Voila!
Never heard of the Woombie. I've never really even looked into other swaddlers--these have worked since we received them when Zach was about 6 weeks. I've tried receiving blankets for his daytime naps and not only does he get out of them, but then there are loose blanket ends everywhere and it becomes a suffocation risk, so I don't even try it anymore!