***here is another post that got lost in my drafts from TWO months ago*

FIVE Months!! Wasn’t I just writing Henry’s 4 month update? How could this be? Time is literally flying by. But, I can honestly say that life with Henry has been absolutely amazing. He’s such a special and loving little man.

Weight: Oh my goodness, he’s gotta be pushing 19-20 lbs now. He’s HUGE! I have legit hip and knee issues lately on my left side (the side I hold him on). Dude ate 17 ounces of milk last night. 17! 8-8.5 at bedtime (6/630pm) and 8-8.5 at 1am. Hungry man.

Height: At 4 months, Henry was 27″ long (97th percentile)! Not sure where he’s at now!

Health Updates: Henry is a healthy dude. Thank goodness.

Sleep: Henry is back to waking

His schedule:

7/8 am: Henry wakes up (typically by making silly noises or you just happen to look at the monitor and he’s awake. Such a good boy.) Usually within 30-40 minutes of waking up, he eats a milk snack.

9/10 am: Henry naps (his morning nap is anywhere from 45 minutes to 3.5 hours). The rest of Henry’s day is dictated by this nap, as he goes down for a nap (most often for about 45 minutes – 1.5 hours) for every 1.5-2 hours of awake time.

430/5: Sometimes Henry will take a little night nap.

6/630: Bedtime for the H pie.

As the day goes on, naps get more difficult; although, his night nap is usually an easier nap and bedtime is a sinch.

All in all, he’s a great sleeper (and baby).

Clothes/Diapers (Sizes): Henry is still in 3-6 month clothing. He might be able to swing 9 month, but we haven’t switched him or even started using any 9 month stuff yet. As for diapers, he’s moved up to a size 3 as of a few weeks ago. Dude’s big.

Diet: Still a milk monster. While we were away, Henry was drinking about 34 ounces of milk per day. Some days, I feel like it’s gotta be more than that. But who knows? At his bedtime feed, the tap runs dry (aka I run out of milk before H is satisfied) and we supplement with a bottle of pumped breastmilk (I pump before bed and first thing in the morning). SO, sometimes he legit drinks everything I have to offer, plus 5-7 ounces of pumped milk.

Henry also enjoys shoving hands/arms/shoulders/necks/shirts/knuckles/etc in his mouth. You can always tell who was just holding Henry, because their shirt is SOAKED.

Paci… still a no go. He likes it for a second, then just gnaws on it until it falls out of his mouth.

As a side-note, I’ve been a little unsure about feeding Henry pumped milk via a bottle versus feeding him directly from the source. I feel like he can eat more when he’s nursing from a bottle (he falls asleep at the boob, sometimes I run out of milk, etc). I’m thinking that a combination of our trip and my 3-night a week workouts (which are now over) screwed up my milk supply. I still seem to have more than enough milk in a 24-hour period, but the problem seems to be that I don’t always have enough at any given time.

Teeth: I feel like Henry has been teething since he was born. In the past few weeks, it feels like he’s gotten closer to his gums actually showing signs of teething and he definitely sucks his whole face into that little mouth, but still no teeth… thank god. Let’s just say he’s a bit of a chomper.

Baby Gear Love: Still loving a lot of the same items. Henry also loves his Little Giraffe lovey blanket. Oh! And his swaddle. We’d be lost without his swaddles. I think the best ones are either the Ergo Baby or the SwaddleMe. The Ergo is nice for nighttime because he can get his arms out, which allows him to self-soothe throughout the night. The SwaddleMe is nice for naps because it keeps him very nicely contained.

Henry also LOVES his play mat. I don’t remember Charlie loving it as much, but MAN does he get into it! And he can play with it for awhile! He loves swatting the little hanging guys and squeals the whole time.

Also, have I mentioned the NogginStik? That’s our fancy shmance rattle, which I actually really love. I bought it on Amazon and had to return the first one I got because it was broken, but since receiving one that actually works, it’s awesome. Perfect size and weight for Henry to hold onto. Lights up and changes colors when he hits it. Makes a rattle noise. Has a mirror on the bottom. All in all, super entertaining.

Milestones/Firsts: Supposedly, Henry rolled from his back to his belly while we were in Nashville, but really, does it actually count if I didn’t see it? No. The answer is no.

His head strength is getting SO good and he’s really discovering his voice, which gets SO high sometimes.

He is still the most smiley, happiest little dude I’ve ever met.

 He’s improving his ability to fall asleep on his own! The other day, I had him sitting in the stroller awake. When I looked back, he was asleep. All on his own. No movement or anything.

Henry gives hugs. He holds onto me like a koala and just gives the best, happy little hugs.

Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Charlie (loves Charlie… except when she’s being a jerk), Rodolfo, smiling, reading books with Mommy, being rocked, being tickled, being held.

Charlie lays with Henry and gives him such hugs and snuggles. Oy. It’s the cutest.

Dislikes: Being put down when he’s not ready. And being overtired. Ugh. That’s the worst. Picture the happiest baby on earth screaming his tiny head off…

Things I Don’t Want to Forget: Just everything. I love my little bumpkins. He has such an incredible personality and is just such a happy love. Even when he’s crying, I can still get him to laugh. He’s just a love.

Also, it’s been so special watching his relationship with Charlie develop. She’s gotten to be so good with him. Every day when we get home from work (Henry and I), Charlie RUNS to the door with a huge squeal and screams, “HENRY!” as she gives him a big hug. The other day, she had set up a blanket on the floor in anticipation of his arrival.

When she wakes up, the first thing she does is ask about Henry.

And Henry… he just adores her. He’s fascinated by her silliness. He loves watching her jump. He loves being on the receiving end of her hugs and kisses. It’s all very sweet.

Melts my little heart.