Charlie's Fifth Month

(written previously)

Charlie has reached his five month mark! He just keeps on growing. We have noticed a lot of change in this month between four and five months.

One of his favorite new “skills” is being able to stand from a sitting position (with help, of course). When he is laying down, I grab his hands and pull him to a sit, from there I continue to pull him as he straightens his legs. It went from a gradual straighten, to an almost automatic stand as soon as I start pulling his arms when he is laying down. We cheer for him each time, and he just loves it. He comes up with the biggest grin on his face. He loves doing it over and over again. Once he stands, he loves to go straight for my hands with his mouth, chewing on my fingers that are holding his hands.

He has also started to really reach for and grasp things. Laying on his play-mat has really become a fun activity for him, because he is able to hold and play with the toys that are dangling down. 

...just ignore the dirty diaper laying there next to him...see, bad mom...

At the beginning of the month, I was all excited that he could sit in the Bumbo, but then I got all freaked out because he started to arch his back so hard that it looked like he was going to fall right out and onto his head. He kept doing that for about a week or so, but finally stopped doing that by the end of the month (or at least not as frequently).

We got to hear his first real laughs this month! Such a delight! He is such a sweet little guy. Great Grandma Arbon was the first person that was really able to get him to laugh. It was the cutest thing, I couldn’t stop laughing. About a week later, my mom and Karl were able to get him to laugh as well. He doesn’t laugh too often, so when he does, it is super special.

He is napping so much better now!!! He can nap between one and two hours now. It is a miracle. I finally realized (came upon some literature) that recommended that babies do not exceed two hours of wakefulness. By that I mean, if Charlie wakes up at 7:30, he should already be put back to sleep by 9:30. With keeping up with that goal and pattern, his naps have improved tremendously! Before realizing this, I was just putting him down whenever he was getting fussy, staring off, and rubbing his eyes...which is fine, since they are indicators of being tired. But it is actually helpful to start helping him fall asleep before he gets to those levels of being overtired. It has given me a pattern that is easier to follow, helped him fall asleep easier, and increased his nap time. With that said, his night sleeping has suffered a bit. He continues to wake up once or twice a night. There was a week that he was waking up every two hours! We were so frustrated and exhausted! It is so lame that their sleeping can change so quickly.


He is doing a lot better in his carseat and in stores. It is not such an ordeal anymore. He might fuss a little bit, but it is not the total break down anymore that it once was. His baby acne has returned a little bit...what can’t it just go away!?! I don’t get it! His poor baby cheeks...oh well, we still love him and still think he is the cutest thing ever. We still can’t decide what his hair color will end up being. A lot of the time his hair looks light brown, but when the sunlight hits it, it looks more red. We think that he will probably have strawberry blonde hair. His eyebrows are so light that Grandpa Gruber says he will need to pencil in his eyebrows. Jokes. But seriously, you can’t even see his eyebrows because they are so blonde.

Charlie had his four month check-up (he always about two weeks behind his actual birth “date”) and these were his measurements:
Length: 26.5 inches - 85%
Weight: 14lbs 15oz - 34%
Head Circ: 42.5 cm - 40%

I have really started to notice that he can differentiate me from other people. He has become easier to calm when I hold him, especially compared to when other people hold him. He seems to be able to roll over pretty easy (he rolled over from his front to his back four times in one day, and continues to roll over each day).

He has become very interested in watching us eat. He will sit there with his mouth open, watering, and arms wiggling. Sometimes he gets to the point of eating his own hand. His own feedings have become shorter, he gets fussy quicker and is easily distracted by things going on in the room. One of my favorite times of day is after his morning feeding, I burp him over my knee and he immediately looks for the wall mirror that is directly across the room from where I am sitting. He is able to find me in the mirror and always has such a huge smile that spreads across his face. Love it! Melts my heart! He has also taken to biting that bottom lip of his. So adorable!

Picture time:

Just turning four months

Wee Willy Winkie

Biting that lower lip

 

First snow day - October 25th

Visiting/touring BYU campus with Aunt Erin and her cousin Chandra

Another snowy day

Chillin'...sliding out of the swing...time to use those straps.

An amazing side shot of Charlie's double chin...doesn't get more impressive than that!

Charlie's Five Month Photo Shoot (Thank you, Amy!):

Love these pictures, Amy! Heart-melting!

I have other videos of Charlie from our "legit" video camera, but can't seem to get them to upload...I keep getting an error. If I ever figure it out, I will post more videos...but the phone videos will have to do for now.