5 Months Old...

Today Andrew and Matthew turned 5 months old. It seems like I wrote their 4 month post just last week. I am doing much better this week. Thanks for all of the support! We got out of the house this weekend. It was all four of us but that was fine. Just leaving the house and seeing a change of scenery was great. We went and stocked up on diapers that were on sale and bought a bunch of organic baby food that I had coupons for. They were about to expire so I needed to use them. We also had a showing for our house this weekend while J was home. We didn't have much notice so we had to clean everything up really quickly...plus it was raining so we needed to take the dogs with us when we left. We had to get all of us ready to leave, including the dogs... and our backyard was starting to flood from the rain (ugh) so it was major chaos. J got pretty frustrated and although I didn't enjoy his frustration, I felt validated on how much of a pain it is to have the house up for sale. I know he understands and appreciates all I do and that makes such a difference. Just as I appreciate how hard he works for our family. He works 11 hour days (plus a commute) and most Saturdays to bring in extra income right now.

I have also been trying really hard to eat better. It only makes sense that I'll be more easily irritated if I am not properly nourished. On Sunday I made dinner while J cut a bunch of veggies and put them in some Tupperware containers for me to eat during the week. So I can just grab the tub out of the fridge and either throw some of the stuff on a tortilla or on bread to make a veggie sandwich or I can just eat it w/ dip. I have no excuse now b/c it's ready and easy to put together. I'm pretty picky w/ what I eat (not a big meat eater) and love veggie sandwiches so this is great (and healthy). For example... I put red onion, red bell peppers (roasted is best), tomatoes, sprouts (avocado if available) and cream cheese on wheat bread or rolls that are toasted w/ vinaigrette drizzled all over it (grilled egg plant is also excellent) and then I'll eat broccoli and cauliflower w/ melted cheese as a side dish. Yum ...I used to eat this several times a week and need to get back into doing it.

J also offered to take over last night once we went to sleep (and I accepted) so I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night or early this morning. He had to get up w/ Andrew at 2am and with Matthew at 4am. After that he was up to start his day since he leaves for work at 5am... so I'm sure he's very tired today. I was able to stay in bed until 6am so that was beyond nice. I feel refreshed. J and I both realize that he actually handles sleep deprivation much better than I do. I feel like crap if I get less than 7 hours. Which means I fall into the feeling like crap category pretty often. If I get 7 then I'm terrific. And it has to be 7... 6 hours doesn't cut it. J seems to do just fine if he gets at least 5 hours straight. He would like 7 or more but functions well on five. How...I have no idea. It seems like I should be the one that handles less sleep better. Women actually require less sleep than men in general and I'm also more physically fit than J at the moment. So what gives?

Anyway... I feel like I got my vent off my chest and that I was "heard" which is important. I'm a lucky girl to have a husband that listens and immediately tries to make things better for me.


And now...on to 5 month milestones:

• Matthew rolled over for the first time two weeks ago. He has proceeded to roll over several more times (from back to tummy and tummy to back). He rocks from side to side non-stop all day long and gets frustrated when he can't make it all the way over. He also wiggles all over the floor mat so I have to keep a close eye on him b/c he manages to move right off it.
• Andrew has absolutely no interest in rolling over at this time :-) He loves to jump up and down and all around in his exerciser though.
• Both babies are getting much better at grasping and holding things. They will hold a small stuffed animal or a rattle.
  
• Both boys have gone from 6 bottles a day to 5 and occasionally they only drink 4. Each bottle has 5.5 to 6 ounces in it. So they are actually drinking less total then they did at 3 months.
  
• Each only produces a poopy diaper once a day and they sometimes even skip a day. This makes the majority of diaper changes much quicker.
  
• Andrew now drinks from a stage 3 bottle nipple and can finish an entire bottle in 2 or 3 mins. He literally gulps it down but has no issues with drinking that fast other than a big belch afterwards. Matthew is on a stage 2 nipple and it takes him about 15-20 minutes to eat. I read that 15 mins is about how long it should take a baby to eat from a bottle or you should consider a different sized nipple. We really had no choice but to move Andrew to a stage 3 nipple. It took him 30-45 mins to eat from a stage 2... and now down to 3 mins w/ a stage 3. He never became very efficient at sucking and now it basically pours right into his mouth. I wish there were something in between a stage 2 and stage 3, but as long as he seems okay I guess we'll just continue to eat super fast. (which is great when Matthew is waiting for Andrew to finish so he can eat)
• Andrew is just about to move up to size 3 diapers. Matthew will continue to wear a size 2 for a while.
  
• Both are awake for much longer during the day. We have lots of activity and play time.
  
• Mornings are our favorite time of day. Both seem to be extremely happy and talkative in the morning. Andrew gets so excited and laughs when I go to get him out of the crib in the morning.
  
• The babies no longer sleep in their "sleep positioners". They still share a crib in our room but that will change in a month or so. We'll move them to their nursery and into separate cribs at that point.
  
• We swaddle the babies w/ their arms out now. Matthew hates being swaddled so it doesn't make sense to do it anymore. We still swaddle his body so that he doesn't kick off the blanket at night and get cold. I just ordered these ... (https://www.halosleep.com/products/detail/?product_id=14) for the boys to sleep in and once they arrive we will stop swaddling completely. I love this product idea b/c it reduces the risk of SIDS b/c you won't need loose blankets in the crib anymore and it'll keep your baby from kicking their blanket off at night.
  
• No solids yet. They just don't seem ready and every time I start thinking about trying out rice cereal...I read "again" somewhere that you should wait if they aren't showing all of signs for being ready. They aren't sitting up well yet, they show no interest in what I eat and they are still satisfied w/ formula alone. So it looks like we'll be waiting until 6 months to try out solids.
  
• Still no teeth. We're drooling more so maybe sometime in the near future? I actually love their gummy smiles so I'm in no hurry for their teeth to come in. Pus we're sleeping better and I am not looking forward to any teething issues.
• And I love these boys even more now that I did last month which I would have though was impossible. I just pray everyday that they grow up happy and healthy.