Jaxon: 5 Months

Height & Weight:  There was no doctor appointment this month, so I'm not too positive.  I stood on the scale holding him, then subtracted my weight with him from my weight without him and it's showing he's about 15 pounds.
I didn't even attempt to measure his height because this is what he does all day long.  Still.

Routine:  It's still the same.  Jaxon leads the routine.  He nurses when he's hungry, sleeps when he's tired, and plays in between.  They usually fall around the same time everyday but there's no guarantee.  He usually wakes up for the day around 9am and goes down for bed around 8pm.

Sleeping:  I'm not sure if we hit the 4 month sleep regression or if Jaxon was just thrown off without Nick here.  The day Nick left, he was waking every 1.5 hours from the time he went down until he was awake for the day.  But then Nick came back and he was sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch, followed by a 3 hour stretch, followed by a 2 hour stretch, then up for the day.  I truly (want to) hope it was just coincidence, because if he's going to sleep like crap while Nick is gone, I'm in for a world of trouble.  Nick will be gone more than he's home from now until next summer and then next summer he deploys for a long time.
Jaxon is still on his obnoxous routine of his short nap routine until about 11pm and then going down for long stretches at night.  He's done this since he was born.  Doesn't matter what I do....starting bedtime earlier, starting his day earlier, prolonging last nap, extending last nap, shortening last nap, etc etc etc.  Tried everything.  His internal clock just tells him that midnight is bedtime.  Can I blame him?  Not really.  I think he learned it from us, because Nick and I are night owls.  The only reason it bothers me is because of his cat naps during the day, and his waking all evening, I don't have any time for myself.  None.  It's draining.  So incredibly draining.
This past week, he's been on a sleep strike from 9pm-11pm.  He will wake up somewhere between 9:00pm-9:30pm. Some nights he's just content to talk and laugh and other nights he will scream and cry and fight sleep until about 11pm.  No amount of nursing, rocking, shhhh-ing, bouncing, singing, etc works.  Want to help?  Send wine.
Here's one of those nights where he's just entertaining himself instead of sleeping at 10pm.

About halfway through this month, Jaxon stopped nursing to sleep for naps and it's so sad.  I loved holding him in my arms, staring at that sweet face during the day.  He will nurse until he's drowsy, then pull off, fuss, and thrash about.  If I walk into the bedroom, lay his Zippadee Zip out and put him in it, the moment I start to zip it up, he's all smiles.  I pick him up, pace the room singing his naptime songs, then kiss, lay him down, and he talks to himself and goes to sleep within 5 minutes.  It's so sad.  I'm happy he loves his Zippy but it makes me sad that he prefers his Zippy and bed (Pack N Play in our bedroom still) to me or the boob.  I hope he still nurses to sleep at night for a little while longer.  I'm not willing to let go of those snuggles.  Thankfully he doesn't seem to go to sleep any other way at night than nursing.  Here are some of our last snuggles (thank goodness I take so many pics!) and Jax sleeping in one of his beloved Zippies

Diet/Eating:  Still 100% nursing.  He used to get my breastmilk in a bottle, but the last time Nick tried to give him one when I was out with my girlfriends for dinner, Jaxon fought the bottle.  Of the 5 oz, Nick said he ate maybe 1 oz.  He would suck for a second, but then let it dribble out of his mouth.  It's kind of frustrating, because that means I can't be away from him for more than a few hours, and sometimes I just love my time out with my girls.  It also means future date nights will be short too.  We even bought faster flow nipples thinking that might be the issue, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
I'm just frustrated because sometimes it's nice to have a break.  I love being able to nurse Jaxon, but sometimes it's exhausting to be the one on call all the time.  Nick would sometimes get up early with Jaxon and give him a bottle to let me sleep in.  Or he would send me to bed early or let me take a nap during the day and he'd take care of Jaxon.  Those days are over.
(I was hoping the strike wasn't the bottle as much as the milk.  Nick used frozen breastmilk from June and I know a woman's milk changes over time to meet the needs of the baby.  So my hope was just that he didn't like that milk because it's so different than my milk supply now.  But I pumped and immediately gave him that milk in a bottle and the same thing.  He chewed on it like a toy, spitting half of the milk out.  But as soon as I gave up and popped him on my boob, he chowed down.)

Health:  He's a happy and healthy boy!  He's had a cough for a little while, but nothing else.  No runny nose or congestion.  He's not fussy and no fever.  I've heard from a number of people that babies can get cold like symptoms when they're teething.  To which I should say, I think he's teething so maybe that's the cough?


Movement:  You'd think I fed my kid sugar cubes with the way he moves.  Which is always and with a fierceness that's kind of scary.  Even he seems shocked by his movements.  Take a look!

Mood:  Jaxon is a really happy baby.  Until 9pm rolls around then, not so much.  He's happy from the time he wakes up until about 7pm.  Then he gets slightly fussy because it's time for bed.  Then he wakes back up at 9pm, and sometimes he's not so happy.  While it's frustrating, I can't be too mad since he's great the rest of the day.  I mean, during the day he'll start to fuss when he's hungry or tired.  But that lasts a whole 2 minutes before he gets his Zippy for naptime or a boob for food.  As I mentioned above, he's not bad at night, it's just exhausting and frustrating to have him awake so long when I just want a little time to take a break from being Mom since I really don't see to get one unless Nick is home (which isn't much...and he doesn't have a boob soooooooo, it's still usually me if Jaxon is awake).  But over all, he's the happiest little kid all day long and I would gladly take the gig we have now over dealing with a crabby baby during the day.

Sizes: Jaxon is in 3-6 month and 3 month clothing from Carters.  He can wear 6 month; it's not too big but the 3 month still fit him well.  He's in 0-3 month pants and shorts still but they're highwaters.  If we go up a size, they fall off his tiny waist.
While we're on the subject of clothes, can we talk about shoes?  How the eff do you get babies feet in shoes?!  They're too tight to get his foot in!!!  I understand they need to be snug to stay on, but I can't even get his feet in them!!  I can't seem to get the heel down!!  What's the trick?  I know it's not too small because if I go with the next size up, there a LOT of room in front of his toe.  I need some tips otherwise Jaxon won't be in shoes until he's two years old.  I have lots of practice with that age and shoes.

Likes:
-  His Mizzou Tigers.  I set him down to go to the kitchen and when I returned, he was fixated on the game.  I couldn't break this stare.  He will look at the tv when it's on, but he's not usually locked in on it like this unless it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (a mama sometimes needs a distraction so she can put the laundry away or cook dinner since this kid only naps 20 minutes) and now apparently, Mizzou.

-  Speaking of Mickey, he loves him.  We were in the Disney store and I was in line to check out, holding Jaxon as we were awaiting the start of storytime.  There was a large stand packed perfectly full (because they had JUST opened) of stuffed toys.  Jaxon grabs a Mickey (knocking about 6 more to the ground).  I take Mickey and put him back.  Jaxon screams and reaches out for Mickey.  Surely he's too young to recognize Mickey from the four episodes he's watched.  I pull him back out and Jaxon smiles so big and stops crying.  I take it away, he screams.  Looks like I'm buying Mickey.  Does this really start this early?!  How on earth does he recognize him AND throw a fit over him at just 4.5 months old???  Either way, mama gave in.  But he LOVES him!

-  He has discovered his feet and loves them.  What started out as just always grabbing them has now turned into always sucking on them.  Actually, just the right.  He only sucks on the right foot.  Mainly just that big toe ;)

Jaxon loves to stand up.  If you hold his hands, he will push himself up.  He's got some strong little legs!!

He loves to read and now even helps hold the book!

His love of sucking on his fist has now turned to sucking on his fingers.  Thankfully he hasn't discovered the ease of sucking his thumb.  

He loves his Oball.  So much that we've bought a few more so we always have one in the house and one in the diaper bag.  He is always holding this ball and if he falls asleep in his car seat (whether in the car or his stroller), you can be certain he's asleep with a grip on this ball.
His dogs.  Jaxon really noticed the pups now and is always smiling when he sees them and reaches out for them when they walk by or get close.  He laughs when Yadi licks and cleans him.  I'm excited when he's older because I'm sure they're all going to be the best of friends.
Jaxon loves to kick the changing "table" part of his Pack n Play.  When he wakes up from naps, he will turn and scoot himself into this position so he can just kick at it.  When you walk in the room to get him after a nap or in the morning, you'll see the changing table moving up and down as he's having a blast just kicking away at it.

Dislikes:
-  The hours of 9:00pm to 12:00am.  He cries (and screams) and fights sleep between those hours.  THAT is his witching hour now.
-  Changing clothes.  I truly can't understand why he hates this but he hates when you have to put his arms in sleeves or take them out of the sleeves.
- Being in his car seat and not moving for more than 3 minutes.  Whether its in the car or the stroller, you better be moving otherwise he starts fussing.  If we're in Target and I've stopped to look at something, I better be moving that stroller back and forth or hear him fuss.  In the car, he's okay at stop lights as long as it's not too long of a light.  Talk about high maintenance!


Milestones:
-  He now laughs often.  Well, not laugh but chuckles.  He truly is Nick.  Nick will smile a lot, as Jaxon does, and he'll give a little chuckle, but to get a good laugh out of Nick is difficult.  And that seems to be the case with Jaxon.
-  Jaxon has finally rolled belly to back. He's done a few times but now that he doesn't hate tummy time anymore (thank goodness), he's actually content to lay on his belly and just look around.

-  This is more of a milestone for ME, but we survived our first separation from Nick.  He was gone for a couple of weeks on training so it was just me and the Jax Man!

-  I guess his standing is a milestone too.  He is always pulling up on our hands and standing on his own.
-  He's getting better about grabbing objects and bringing them to his mouth.  He's just very recently learning to grab large objects with both hands, but lifting those objects and bringing them to his mouth is still a task for him.  (He loves to grab my water bottles and bring them to his mouth).
-  Jaxon now not only tolerates tummy time, but sometimes even enjoys it!!!  Before, if you would put him on his belly, he was instantly freeze and scream.  He was slowly getting better but now he will stay on his belly for quite a while and even have fun!

Things That I Don't Want to Forget:
- Nursing him to sleep at night.  This month, he stopped liking nursing to sleep during naps and I miss those snuggles so much.  I loved sitting and watching him sleep, curled up in my arms.  Now, I don't really get that because once he's asleep, I put him in his bed so I can go to sleep.  Now that the nap nursing is gone, I make sure to be 100% engaged (just watching the sweet boy) nurse at night because I don't know when he'll want to stop and put himself to sleep as he does with naps now.

-  His new noises.  It's as if each month he discovers some new noise he can make.  This month, he learned to do this choking/coughing/gagging noise.  It's so odd but he does it all the time now!

-  Jaxon is so curious.  His eyes are always wide, his head is always moving around looking around, his brows are always furrowed as he's trying to figure things out.  He loves new sights and could just sit on your lap and watch the world around him all day.  I love his sweet, innocent, curious face.

-  I love the way his hair parts during bathtime.  Wherever the water hits when we pour it over his head, his hair parts and it's far too cute.

-  I love how sweet he looks in his car seat when he's napping.  Just so precious!

Mama Update:  Mama is doing so much better!!!!  My anxiety and blues have been kept at bay.  It's been a complete 180 and I am so thankful!  Jaxon and I have been hanging out with friends more, although not enough in my opinion.  I try to do lunch or brunch with one friend a week.  And maybe twice a week, Jaxon and I get out and wander around somewhere, whether it's grocery shopping, just browsing Town Center or Hobby Lobby.  It helps to make the days when Nick is gone not seem as though they are crawling by.  We also take lots of selfies.

My energy is also back!  My weight still isn't up despite my better sleep, less stress and anxiety, and tons of protein intake so that's still concerning, but I'm happy my energy is back.  That was making life far too difficult.  I've even begun working out again and it feels great.  For now, I'm easing back in because my stamina and strength is GONE!  It takes nothing for me to be out of breath and my arms and legs burning and unable to move the next day.  For now, I work out, at home, three days a week and will slowly increase the exercises (weight, reps, length, etc).  I get really discouraged with how weak my body became, but I guess it makes sense considering I had to stop physical activity at only 16 weeks.  So it's been a LONG time since I've done anything more than just brisk walks.  I'm talking, 10 months!


Daddy Update:  As I mentioned, Nick has been gone quite a bit.  I know he hates having to be gone, especially when he misses milestones like Jaxon's laughing and rolling over (which he refuses to do when Nick is home).  We're trying to squeeze in as much family time as we can before he leaves again.
Jaxon is Nick's mini-me.  Not just with the hard to make laugh thing, but in looks.  Here he is, Under Armour sporting, furrowed brow wearing, resting dick face wearing Mini Nick.

Doggie Update:
Vino is getting a lot more comfortable with Jaxon.  When we come home, I set Jaxon's car seat down and Vino will run to him, give him a quick lick and then run to get a toy and greet Nick and I.  She's also laying and sitting much closer to him.  He absolutely loves her and when she rests her head in my lap while he's sitting with me, he will reach out and grab her ear or face and she doesn't back away anymore.  She doesn't cuddle with him, but just tolerates his presence when she cuddles with us.  Before, she wouldn't let him touch her and would choose the parent that didn't have Jaxon to cuddle with.

Yadi is the same.  Loving him, licking him, always by him.
Both of the girls think they need to babysit him if I walk away.  It's cute.

What we did this month:
-  Jaxon enjoyed his first zoo trip!  And Jaxon got his first tiger :)
-  We've begun shopping for cold weather gear and clothes since we're traveling home a few times this winter and Lord knows it gets crazy cold in Missouri!
-  Jaxon and I go out and about, shopping, browsing, and he's such a happy, little trooper.  Best shopping buddy ever!
-  We had a few baby playdates.  One morning we gathered a friends' house for coffee, mimosas (or just straight up champagne), and breakfast.  The babes were too cute! (Their faces are blurred because it's not my place to put their kids on the internet).  Another time a few squadron wives and I gathered together for a slumber party since our husbands were gone.  Once the kids were asleep, we had a few drinks and played some games.  Other days we meet friends for lunch, brunch, or just hanging out at their house for dinner or drinks.
-  Jaxon got to send a special little message to his Grandma and Grandpa for Grandparents Day