Five months seems like we are really well into this baby thing. Logan is definitely becoming less of a baby and more of a little boy. His personality is really developing and he is so much fun. He is cooing and babbling more, smiling all the time, and crying a whole lot less than when he was an itty bitty baby. It is rare now that we are stumped with what is wrong or what we can do to make him happy. There are few things he dislikes, and he is exploring more all the time.

In the last month, so much has changed! We had a great trip to Florida with friends, and just this past weekend we went to Dallas. Logan is now “sleep trained” and we are all sleeping great at night. He even has better naps and is happier overall during the day.

He started sitting in his stroller facing forward without the car seat adapter, we opened up the BOB stroller for future longer walks when the weather gets nicer, and he started loving his Jumperoo. It’s his favorite thing right now. We also opened up the high chair, but haven’t used it yet, or started solids, but that’s another story.

He smiles all the time, talks, pays attention to books, to me when I talk to him, and always follows me around a room with his eyes.

At his last doctor’s appointment at 4.5 months old, he weighed 16 lbs, 11 ounces and was 25 inches tall. He was in the 75% for weight and 40% for height. Sounds about right!

Lily is also doing well with her new brother. She still watches him, sits by him, and sits with us when he gets a bottle. We all take walks together, and she is very sweet to him. Mostly, she loves his toys.

This next one is a big one (aren’t they all?). Logan goes to school and mommy goes back to work!

I promise this is the end of the posts on sleep. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. I realized I had taken a few pictures of Logan sleeping over the last few months, and it’s interesting to see how his sleep has changed, and of course, how he has grown! The picture above is somewhere around two months old, I think. We used to swaddle and put two wedges around him.

This is what he looked like in the same sized swaddles when he would bust out of them and we knew it was time to say adieu.

How much more comfy does this look?! This particular nap was after a birthday party when he had so much fun, he didn’t even wake up coming out of his car seat.

And after 10 long days of sleep training, this is how Logan naps now. Happily on his belly.

Or he wedges himself between the bumpers.

It’s all smiles in this house. We finally feel like we are coming up for air and even feel rested. I even made a list of things to cook to get back in the school mode, am trying to get Logan and me organized for us both to go to school, and am finishing up summer projects.

After trying every suggestion we heard about infant sleep, we finally got Logan to learn to sleep  on his own and through the night. And fall asleep for naps on his own too. Hallelujah! What worked? Cry it out. I know, I can’t believe it. It was definitely a last resort, but it really wasn’t as bad as we expected.

The final night of misery was last Wednesday when Logan was extremely hard to put to sleep at 7 p.m. and then woke up two hours after he finally fell asleep at 8:30. We could not get him back to bed and after almost two hours of being awake (it was then after midnight), we put him down to cry. We set a 45 minute limit and covered our heads with the covers. Thirty-five minutes later, he was asleep. It wasn’t perfect, he woke up again a few hours later, but by Thursday morning for his nap, we did it again and he fell asleep within an hour (mostly talking, then crying), same with his afternoon nap quicker, same with bedtime that night within 20 minutes…and he slept until morning when he woke up happy. By the weekend, the crying was minimal and the naps were nice and long.

There are many variations of “cry it out,” but we did the more extreme where we don’t “shuffle” out of the room. We said goodnight, put him down, and walked away. We watched the monitor the whole time, and the crying was around 20 minutes or less each time. For some naps, I went back to pat his back and give him the pacifier, but that was it…no rocking, swaying, etc. He learned to put himself to sleep.

He sleeps happy on his belly, even though he can’t roll to his back yet. I lay him on his back and he quickly rolls to his belly. His naps have been longer too–an added bonus. Breaking the swaddle has not been pleasant, but hopefully we are over the hump!

On Saturday night, he went down with less than two minutes of crying, more like whining, and slept perfectly until 7 a.m. We know there will be many less-than-perfect nights, but we are so happy that he can go to sleep on his own. Glad that battle is behind us!

Last Wednesday, we headed to Destin, FL for a little family beach trip with friends. It was Logan’s first trip to Florida, second trip on a plane, and first time to the ocean. By 4.5 months old, he has already been to the mountains and ocean! Not too shabby.

Logan really enjoyed the sights and sounds and was a very good boy. He likes facing forward in the Bjorn so he can look around.

We borrowed some toys from Jeffrey’s cousins who drove their baby toys down from Birmingham last week. Very helpful for us! He was right at home. We rented a crib, and I shipped a box of miscellaneous items like diapers, wipes, a bath sponge to lay him on, crib sheet, lotions, etc. Also a good idea so I didn’t have to take up suitcase room. It was a pretty easy trip to pack him for–lots of summer onesies, bathing suits, nightgowns and toys.

Logan seemed very relaxed and slept very well while we were there too. He slept one night his longest stretch ever of almost 12 hours, but hasn’t done it again or come close. He ate well, napped well, was happy and not too fussy.

He went swimming in the pool a few afternoons, got to drive around and go shopping a little, and put his toes in the water. He actually spent most of the day in the condo because I wanted his naps on schedule, and he still naps best when swaddled in his crib. We took turns staying upstairs with him. It was rainy two afternoons so it wasn’t too bad.

On our third day, we went to Seaside (the cutest town ever), and he took two naps in his car seat and was very good. It is amazing how much more confident we are to take care of him, travel, go on outings for hours, etc. by ourselves in a few short months.

When we got back, the sun was still out and Logan put his toes in the water. He wasn’t so sure about it.

It was really fun to take him to the beach for the first time, and we know each time he goes, he will have more and more fun and become a true beach baby. Until next time!

Wow we have made it to four months! When I think about the first year timeline, I had been tuning out anything beyond three months, because that was the stage we were in, and things are pretty similar up to three months. But at four months, we are out of our newborn phase and a real baby.

Like a walking, talking baby. Well close.

I did a similar post at 6 weeks. Neat to see how things change.

In some ways, our daily schedule is very similar, but other things have changed. His feedings are surprisingly at the same time now as they were when he was three weeks old. Three cheers for Babywise! The eat-wake-sleep pattern really does work for us. He eats within about 30 minutes of each feeding every day.

His naps are a big change. Right at three months, we tried really hard to get him to nap for a long stretch in the morning and afternoon. We did the whole sleep routine–swaddle, shhh, paci, rock, etc. It sometimes takes longer to get him to sleep than the actual nap, but we are getting better. We also moved all naps to the crib around the same time.

Here is what our day looks like:

6-7 a.m.: wake up, talk in crib, finally cry for some food. We try to make it closer to 7.

7-730: Feedings are much shorter with a bottle. More time for activities!

730-8: Logan plays on the floor, he rolls over now and enjoys doing that with a toy in his hand.

8-9 am: This is a big change from before. Logan gets cranky much sooner and I go put him down for a nap before he gets cranky. For some reason, this nap used to be 9-11 a.m. and is now 8-9/930 a.m. Luckily, he wakes up happy and not hungry yet, so we play some more, walk Lily, get dressed, then eat.

10 a.m.: Bottle time.

10:30-1 p.m.: Sometimes we run errands, we play more, etc. He used to take a short cat nap in his car seat or stroller, but we are trying to do a real nap in the crib in this window. I probably should have been doing this nap all along. This nap is around 11/11:30 a.m. for about 30 minutes.

1 p.m. Bottle.

1:30 p.m.-2 p.m.: Similar to mornings, we play, walk Lily, talk.

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: This is also a change from before. It used to be I would get a great morning nap and nothing great in the afternoon. He gets cranky around 2 and I go put him down for a nap. Sometimes it’s not long enough (or absent), but 90 minutes to 2 hours is ideal. He is still swaddled for this nap too.

4 p.m.: Bottle.

4:30-7 p.m.: Also known as “what else can we play with to waste time til bed?” We sometimes have a playdate around now, play on the floor with toys, etc. Playdates make the time pass nicely! Sometimes we get an extra nap here too.

6:45ish: If I can make it until 6:45, we do a bath.

7 p.m.: Bedtime routine is still the same. We do bath, quiet lullabye music, bottle, swaddle, rock, down for bed by 7:30. Difference from before is this is earlier because bottles are quicker for us.

Sometime between 2-5 a.m.: He wakes for a bottle. We are cutting the ounces in this feeding because it’s more out of habit than hunger. Then sleeps until 6-7 a.m. and it starts over!

We have plenty of days where this is not the norm, but on average, our days look like this. For a predictable person like me, it works well!

A few things we are working on are getting better daytime naps, putting him down awake (not working well), working toward breaking the swaddle, and eliminating the middle of the night feeding. No big deal, right?

Tomorrow is Logan’s four month birthday, and I’ll have some pictures and a post on that soon!

(happy baby, monday afternoon)

The rest of Tuesday, that night and Wednesday were pretty bad for everyone. The virus causes blisters in the mouth, hands and feed and a high fever. He also had fluid in his ears. Basically, it would be miserable for an adult and you would sit in bed with hot tea and soup and watch TV to pass the time, so you know it’s bad when you are barely four months old and don’t understand what is wrong.

All we could give him was Tylenol for fever and a combo of Mylanta and Benadryl for his throat. The worst was overnight Tuesday-Wednesday when he would wake every 90 minutes or so in pain but we had to wait to give him medicine at the four hour mark. He wouldn’t eat because his mouth hurt, he wouldn’t take a pacifier because it hurt to suck, and he couldn’t sleep because he was probably hungry…and his mouth hurt. And to make it more fun, he didn’t want to be rocked sitting down, he wanted us to stand and bounce and shhh and hold all 16 pounds of him until after he got his medicine and fell asleep. We also spent some quality time outside giving him a bottle at 2 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. because he liked the sounds.

It is supposed to last 5-7 days from when the fever hit, and we are on Day 3-4. He is definitely better, eating more regularly, and his fever is gone.

It is very contagious (he probably picked it up from someone), and you can give it back to yourself through germs. We have sterilized and washed everything, toys and car seat included, hoping we don’t get this back anytime soon.

But even with a yucky virus, we managed to get some smiles in the bathtub. Just don’t tell him that his mom posted naked pictures of him on the Internet when he was a baby.

What a nice weekend we had at home with no major plans. We took Logan out to a couple early dinners, he played with some friends, went to a birthday party, and played with some new toys. As usual, more firsts!

We had our first naps unswaddled. A few things we are trying to work on are breaking the swaddle, putting him down awake (not working well) and of course, sleeping through the night. We are starting with working on unswaddled for a short nap. He was worn out from a birthday party!

Logan is getting too big and mobile for his bouncy seat and swing so it’s time for some new places to sit! Now we have a bumbo to play with. He likes it ok so far. Also new is the jumperoo from the picture above. He also likes it ok so far. He’s probably a little small for it.

On Saturday night, we cooked in. Summer corn with butter, paprika and pepper roasted in the oven. Also grilled chicken on the indoor grill because it was raining outside.

Another first is moving up in pajama sizes! He had been in newborn size since the beginning, but now we are in smalls. I’ll miss those little gowns. Can’t get enough of baby toes.

More fun this week with my parents back in town, the 4th and a little party on Wednesday, and then it’s almost the weekend again. We are almost 4 months old!

Also–happy birthday to my dad today!

I last wrote a body after baby Part 2 update on May 17. Also wrote Part 1 on April 23. So here is a third part written at the end of June.

Now 3.5 months post-partum, I am really feeling like my old self. Stopping breastfeeding contributed to the final push to help me feel most normal again.

This past month, I got into a routine of exercise. It is too hot for me to do things outside, so I do all exercise indoors. The goal for the week is two days of Define Body and two days of gym things like elliptical, treadmill, and free weights, kettlebells, barbells. I’m enjoying adding things back that I used to like such as jumping rope, the StairMaster, and kettlebell swings.

Four days of a normal week is really all I can fit in right now outside of the house. Throughout the day, I go up and down the stairs carrying Logan and other odds and ends, we walk Lily outside (very short walks), and we bounce and play. Running errands with Logan is also a workout and tiring. It’s exhausting just being at home.

As far as food, I am trying to eat pretty simply. I just don’t have the time for detailed meals or for baking, which is a good thing for weight loss. I know you can bake healthy (and really enjoy and miss it), but not baking also helps. I eat cereal and Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast, avocado/hummus/cheese sandwiches for lunch or leftovers from dinner, and try to cook dinners at home a few times a week. We do pasta, ground turkey dishes, and slow cooker dishes often. And try to make take-out dinners last for two meals. PBJ sandwiches are pretty common too. Fast, nutrient-dense and simple are really important!

I actually find myself too busy to eat or snack often, which shows staying busy really helps ward off mindless eating. When I have spare time, I try to clean, shower, do things on the computer, or get ready for the next feeding/bath time/get the diaper bag ready, etc. Then I’ll realize I’m hungry and eat something.

I am 100% positive that staying active and eating healthy during pregnancy helped get fit faster after and am so glad I was active.

I haven’t started jogging again, and probably won’t for a while. I enjoy being outdoors but it’s just too hot until about October or November.

Hoping to keep up what I’m doing and just feel good!