Lukas: our little man at 5 months

 

 

Oh, dear! I was certain that I had posted a 4-month update for Lukas, but apparently that happened only in my head. So sorry about that! And here I am over a week late for his 5-month update already. Crazy how fast the time goes.

But yes, our little fellow is now a grand 5 months old. He has grown up so very much in the past two months, and continues to bring much joy to our home every day!

 

New things he's doing:

 

~ Almost full head-control now allows Lukas to sit up with some support - most often in our arms, but sometimes in the Bumbo or propped up with pillows. He finds this great fun, and I think it makes him feel like a big boy. :) He has yet to roll over completely by himself (though he's getting closer!), and I am wondering if he will actually sit up first. Guess we'll see!

 

~ Hand-eye coordination is also improving quickly, and he is now able to quickly grab a toy from us when we hold it within his reach. So he's been putting our small toy collection to good use every day, and we're grateful to those who picked these out as gifts. Another favorite is his special blankie, with ribbon "tags" all around the sides. That keeps him occupied for hours at a time.

 

~ Over the past month, his sweet little baby coos have changed into more of a baby-babble: lots of "ma-ma-ma-ma" and other similar sounds. I like to pretend he's trying to call me, but I know he hasn't made that connection yet. :)

 

~ Giggles! That's another sound we've been hearing a lot more often over the past month. He's becoming increasingly ticklish and is beginning to enjoy other little games. So much fun!

 

~ Almost exactly on his 4-month birthday, Lukas decided he was old enough to start the laborious process of teething. We've had quite a few fussy days since then, but the amber teething necklace I got for him does seem to be helping. No teeth have popped through yet, but they're getting closer! Thankfully it has only seemed to make it difficult for him to nap in the daytime, but nights are still uninterrupted.

 

~ And yes, you read that right: he has been sleeping through the night (at least 6-7 hours, usually 8 or occasionally 9) for most of his fourth and fifth months. I feel really blessed, knowing that most babies don't do this good at his age. And even when he wakes up in the morning, it is almost always a slow, happy process - giving me enough time to slowly wake up myself and sometimes grab a bit of breakfast to eat before I nurse him. So thankful, especially with the weird schedule we've had to keep since early March (Joe on night shift, Lukas and I on evening shift).

~ Nursing is about the same, with SNS usage required pretty much full time (or bottles when in public). We're now taking him for cranial-sacral therapy only once a month and his palate seems to not be dropping much further: still higher than normal, but a lot better than it was! A couple midwife friends checked him out when we were down in MO last month and we ended up opting for a frenotomy (clipping of a tongue tie). His case was very mild, though, and we have seen few changes since the clipping. We aren't sure if he just needs to re-learn his ways of sucking, or if normal nursing will never be an option for him. Ah, well - we are just thankful he is healthy and continuing to grow!

 

~ And continuing to grow he is! Weighing in at 16 lbs. 6 oz. a few days after his 5-month birthday, he is one chunky little man. I'm not sure what to do with the rolls on his thighs, hehe, since none of my siblings had them - never had to wash them out before. ;) Yep, we definitely don't have to worry about whether or not he's getting enough food!

So that's what he's up to these days! I'll check back in around the end of May with another update, Lord willing.