5 months.

Our little boy is five months old already!  In some ways it seems like he was just born, yet in other ways it completely makes sense that he's five months old already.  Yup, mostly it just seems right.

Our little man has officially doubled his birth weight this month, weighing in at approximately 16.5 lbs.  He had his first cold this month, too, so that may contribute to the fact that he didn't gain a whole lot this month over last.  But we're not worried.  Those baby rolls are still pudgy as ever!

Levi has started sitting on his own in the last couple days.  While I still stay pretty close, he can easily sit for a few minutes before either reaching for a toy or getting tired and toppling over.  My mom always said that I sat at 4 months, so I'm pretty proud of Levi for being able to sit before 5 months too...not that I'm comparing... : )

Toes have been discovered this month.  He loves to grab his feet and getting his toes into his mouth seems to be especially fun.  Unfortunately, cloth diapers make it a little trickier to make the feet reach the mouth, but he takes advantage of his increased flexibility at each and every diaper change, making my job just a little more interesting!

Levi is starting to move around a bit more, though we're not at the "baby-proofing stage" yet.  He is still fairly immobile.  When we leave him on his back, he will more often than not roll onto his tummy within seconds.  Thankfully he is usually happy with his tummy time for at least a few minutes before he starts yelling and grunting for help.  We flip him over like a little turtle and wait for his yells that are sure to come a few minutes later when he needs our help again.  While on his tummy, though, he has figured out how to raise himself with his arms and turn in circles to reach whatever is around him.  I'm enjoying that his mobility is limited to 360 degrees at this point!

Levi has always been a good eater.  When he was a week old, I was fed up with unpredictable days/nights (and him not necessarily knowing the difference) and started feeding him every 2 hours during "daytime" hours, whether he was hungry or not, so that he would know the difference between day and night.  It worked like a charm and he caught on to the new routine by that night.  He then slept 6 hours straight the night after that.  Now, why was I saying this?  Oh yes.  Feeding every two hours.  I expected these feeds to stretch out as his stomach grew and could handle more food at each feeding.  They haven't.  I have been feeding every two hours for the past 5 months.  BUT, in the last few weeks, there have been a few feeds that have been stretched an extra 30-60 minutes with no fussing from Levi.  I suppose it shouldn't matter, but it does feel like a small accomplishment as it gives me even just that little bit of extra "freedom" in my day.  I will be sad when he's finally weaned, though, so I really do try to enjoy every moment of nursing that we get.

Month five is the month Levi first started actually listening to the stories that we read him.  He's started watching Lennox a lot more.  And sometimes he just stands really really stiff and just shakes and screams with the desire to move on his own.  It's like he just wants SO bad to be able to run and jump and play already!  It's so fun to watch.  He's started staying awake in the Moby on our walks outside, so he's been able to see more of the world than he had before...he's also probably experienced more cold than ever before, though never very much.  I hate being cold, so I try to expose him to as little of the frigid temperatures as possible.  He is always very bundled and covered when we go outside!

Last, but not least, sleep.  Sleep is huge for me (I've always needed more sleep than the average person to feel completely rested).  Therefore, it has been the largest adjustment I've had to make in entering motherhood.  I can't really complain about Levi's sleeping habits.  I think he needs less sleep than some babies, but he's had his days and nights straight since week 1 and has only been up in the night for no apparent reason 2-3 times in his life.  That said, naps have always been an issue for him.  At the beginning of his fifth month, he would fight naps as hard as he could.  Eventually I got to the point of considering nursing/rocking him to sleep for every nap because I couldn't handle his crying and screaming anymore.  Remember that post?  After reading everyone's comments, I decided to give sleep training one last try.  And within a day, Levi was going down for naps with minimal fussing.  I don't know what changed or what I started doing differently, but he is a different boy as far as naps are concerned.  Month five has been a celebratory one for me in that I finally have a good napper!  Nights, on the other hand, have been the worst they've ever been this month.  We went from feeding every 3-5 hours during the night, to being up every 1-3 hours.  I'm not sure why, but I sure hope month six brings more sleep to this household!  Oh, and he still gets swaddled to sleep every time.  I tried to wean him of it this month, but nothing good came of it, so I gave up.  I figure when he's done with it, he'll let us know.  If I leave his arms unwrapped, he'll just cry and cry with his arms flailing and waving about wildly.  Those babies need to be strapped down!

Month five has been fun.  Only one more month til the half-birthday!