Grayson's Fifth Month

Grayson's fifth month was from June 27th to July 26th. This month Grayson really got into babbling and could manipulate toys much more than last month. He loved to fly through the air and "read" books. 

I am going to abbreviate the next few of Grayson's month-by-months in an effort to catch up!

Growth: Grayson finally moved up to 3-6 month clothes and is 25 inches long. Grayson spends a lot of time trying to roll from back to front, but it still isn't happening yet. I am sure he'll have it any day now! Grayson has

playing with toys

 Breastfeeding:

Things are still going smoothly. This month I developed a spot on my left nipple that bothered me tremendously. At first it was just a little crack, then I woke up in the middle of the night and was having AWFUL pain shooting from my nipple into my breast. It turned out that I had thrush!  Thankfully Grayson did not get it, but the Gentian Violet treatment still turned his mouth purple when he nursed!!

my little purple people eater

Co-Sleeping:
Sleeping together at night is going very smoothly! Grayson isn't wanting to sleep at all in his crib anymore. Now, I lie next to him on the bed and nurse him to sleep and then make a little pillow barrier in case he rolls over. It was just really hard to transition him from sleeping in my arms to his crib, so lying next to him eliminated the transfer.
This month Grayson began to take naps on a routine. Instead of just waiting until he got fussy and fell asleep, I would take him to bed and nurse him to sleep at the first sign of sleepiness. It was great to learn his sleep cycles & he got a lot more rest that way. I feel awful for not trying this before, but I just loved snuggling my baby while he slept. Now I snuggle/nurse him until he falls asleep and then he sleeps in the bedroom - I feel like he gets better rest that way rather than sleeping wherever we are when he gets sleepy.

Diapering:
This month I realized that the issue was AMMONIA. Grayson was getting ammonia burn because it had built up in my diapers from too little detergent. We had been using soap nuts, unfortunately they do not work very well with hard water. The diapers were not getting clean enough and the ammonia was really irritating his booty. I stripped them with bleach, used lots of CJ's BUTTer to calm his booty & things cleared up!

big ole booty! (and puppy snuggles!)

Leia LOVES Grayson.

Babywearing: 

The Tula is AMAZING. We wear it everywhere and my mom even wore it when she came into town. Mom loves strollers and she wishes I had one, but she was so impressed that anytime she put him in the Tula he immediately fell asleep. 

Grooming:

Mom came to visit toward the end of Grayson's 5th month and LOVED letting him play in the bathtub. We bathe Grayson infrequently, he doesn't get very dirty and we like to let his natural oils remain in balance. With Dede he got a special treat - lots of water in the tub! Mom would put him in the Bumbo and he splashed around and reached for toys. So cute! He got more baths during her trip than he had ever had before.

loving bath time with Dede

Other things this month:

-My mom came to visit, Grayson was unsure when we picked her up from the airport but he was quick to remember her & they had the best time together.

- Mom tried to give him a bottle so Tim and I could go on a date. He wasn't a fan… but he drank enough to get by. Mom just had to lay with him while he slept. He wouldn't let her up!

- Tim left during Grayson's 5th month on his first patrol. We were both so unhappy to see him go. He recorded himself reading Grayson some stories and Grayson paid such close attention every time. Daddy read him a book each night.

helping daddy wash the car

good morning!!

~Katie