Sawyer Harvey | 5 months

5 months old. Life with this baby just keeps getting better. His joyful spirit continues to grow and he is just the happiest little thing.

I think God knew what he was doing when he gave us Sawyer (duh) because he has been so go with the flow! I mean we all have our off days, but for the most part he is just so easy going and I am so thankful, because it helps when we are out and about to not have a super needy baby. I try to stay super consistent on days we are home and I think that helps when we need to be flexible but over all he is just c h i l l. Last week we went to the pumpkin farm and we left when it was his morning nap and he was definitely getting cranky but he dozed off in the car for a bit, then I wore him at the farm and he was content just looking around being worn, then he slept for a while, woke up and was still chill with being worn and then he nursed in the car before we headed back home. What a blessing it was to have him be so easy while I was chasing two toddlers thru the farm (insert praise hands). We keep joking around that he is doing what Siena did by being so sweet and tricking us into having another baby before showing his true colors haha. We will see but for now he is just the sweetest little guy! Well not so little. He is a tank. I can’t believe he is already fitting into 6-9 & 9 month clothing! I don’t know where this big boy came from because the other two did not grow at his speed. It’s ok tho because I am obsessed with the chub and hoping it will make me buff ;) When we weighed him at home he was 21lbs!

EAT.

Sawyer is still nursing awesomely and will take a bottle if he must, which gives me peace of mind!

Right now he eats every 3-3.5 hours. It all depends on how long his nap is because I like to feed him when he wakes.

I pump every morning after we wake up anywhere from 20-40 mins after getting up for the day. I usually get around 5 oz out. Sometimes more and sometimes less. I have a decent stash building in the freezer!

I don’t plan on starting solids until next month!

He nursed quite a bit during the night some nights, but I think that had to do with the sleep regression.

SLEEP.

This month Saywer’s naps improved so much! He was cat napping a ton and therefore needing a lot of naps! This month he (more towards the end of the month) started lengthening his naps and would need anywhere from 3-4 naps.
I have to give a recommendation for an awesome sleep consultant I found on Instagram! Her handle is @takingcarababies and I love watching her stories. I feel like because I read baby wise before having Noah, and I was in a bunch of Facebook groups for it, that I have the whole sleep thing pretty figured out, but I am always learning! Cara said that it’s normal and totally OK for a baby to have a 20 min nap when they’re 4 months or younger and sometimes if you need to lengthen it by holding them then that’s fine too! It made sense as to why Sawyer was having cat naps after learning that. She also mentioned that at 5 months naps should start to lengthen and sure enough they are. I know I personally value sleep so much that I want my babes to have healthy sleep habits too!

This month he could handle about an hour sometimes a little more of wake time in the morning and then have a nap. After that it was about 2 hours of wake time before going down again. He is still holding strong with taking naps in the swing! I will probably use that until he outgrows it!!

Night time sleep was a bit of a struggle this past month. I can only assume it was the 4 month sleep regression but I don’t really know.

Getting him down for bed was tough most nights. I would go round and round trying to get him settled and then he would wake shortly after. I read that when they are going thru the regression it happens because they don't know how to transition from sleep cycles like we do. They have to learn how to put themselves back to sleep when they wake in a sleep cycle and this can be hard! I have been trying to help him learn how to do this. This was when I discovered that he likes the pacifier again! haha. One night in a moment of desperation and sore nipples I offered him the Paci and he took it! He has liked it ever since that night. Now it is a great tool for me to use during nap time and at night. It has allowed me to not always nurse him first thing but see if he wants the Paci first. He is loving the Pat Pat Paci from Ryan and Rose. I have so many of our sleep essentials linked in my last post about my baby must haves!

If you can't tell I totally enjoy learning about HOW babies develop. I want to support my baby the best I can.

He had some nights he woke up numerous times and early mornings he ended up in bed with me more mornings than not. If it is between 5-6:30am then I just pull him into bed with me because I am way too lazy to nurse him in a chair and try to get him back down. ha. Plus I kind of love the sweet snuggles!

Most days he is up around 7 am just like the other kids. He wakes up so happy too! I suppose his sweet day time demeanor makes up for the rough nights we had.

He is still going to bed later between 8:30&9:30 pm but it works out with the other two being in bed already.

FAVORITES.

Baby boy loves to JUMP! We got him the same jumper that N&S used and he loves it! He has the motion down and now every time you hold him he starts jumping. It is so funny!

The bath, his swaddle, lion and play mat are alls still favs! He still loves to be worn and held.

He loves to stick his tongue out and it is the cutest/funniest thing! He basically mastered hanging onto things and reaching for things himself more and more all on his own this month! Watching him play more and more is so enjoyable.

I swear he loves this thing but this was the first pic I took of him trying it out and I think he was still figuring it out. Now my phone is full of videos jumping like crazy in it!

When Sawyer was sticking his tongue out it reminded me of this picture I took of Noah. He was probably around 7 months old there.

FIRSTS.

He ROLLED OVER! YAY! Back to belly and he is so quick at it now!

First ride in the stroller! We went to the children's museum with my sister and after he was in the carrier for a while we tried out her stroller since my nephew wasn't using it and it worked great! The way the pads on the straps were positioned it offered great support for his head. Now he loves to go for rides in our double stroller when we take the kids outside. We use the infant headrest for extra support.

Sawyer’s first jumper!

First trip to the pumpkin farm!

We are all so happy to watch you grow sweet boy! It has been so fun watching you interact more and more with your big brother and sister. They adore you so much and so does the rest of the family. Your smile is contagious and those sweet eyes. I just feel like I won the lottery with being chosen to be YOUR mama (and your sib’s too ;) ) I am excited to see what this next month brings. You are so loved baby boy.