I have not been doing very well at keeping up with monthly updates for Enzo! I cannot believe he’s already 5 months old. It’s crazy how fast time is going and I can imagine that it will continue to do so. Now that we are out of the newborn stage I feel like both Joe and I can breathe a little bit easier. The first three months of his life were difficult for many reasons and I’m happy to be on the other side of that now, though the experience taught us both a lot. I am truly feeling better physically, emotionally and mentally, and I am looking forward to continuing to watch Enzo grow.
Enjoys: grabbing toys, hair and faces (he pinches and it hurts!), standing and walking (with help of course), watching the puppies, grabbing his toes every chance he gets (he just found them this week finally), smiling and shrieking.
Sleep: We’ve been sleep coaching for about 4 weeks now and Enzo has gotten very good at falling asleep on his own for naps and bedtime in his crib. It really didn’t take much effort for him to learn how. Most of the time when we rocked him to sleep I felt that we were just getting in the way so we decided to give it a try. We’ve gotten some pretty great stretches of sleep at night (10 hours one night!) but naps are still a struggle. He does have some longer ones but most of the time he wakes after about 40 minutes and I can tell he’s still really tired. We are trying to get him down to 3 naps a day instead of 4 so hopefully with that transition, his naps will get a little bit better. Joe and I now have our nights back. Playing tag team with a screaming baby who won’t sleep was pretty stressful and now once Enzo is in bed (usually around 6), we can have dinner, watch a movie or just hang out before bed. It’s been pretty refreshing. Most nights he gets up once to eat but sometimes twice. Getting more sleep makes me feel like a totally new person! Though we still have some rough nights here and there.
Enzo was able to roll from his tummy to back about a month or so ago but isn’t really interested in doing it much any more. He hasn’t rolled from back to tummy yet but I’m thinking that will happen in the next month. He can get from his back to his side but gets stuck. He’s also close to being able to sit up on his own.
Breastfeeding is going fairly well. He still doesn’t maintain suction like he is supposed to but I think my body has gotten used to it. I can’t believe how far we’ve come with breastfeeding and I’m hoping I can make it to at least a year or even longer if both Enzo and I still want to. The moments when I’m feeding him and he looks up at me with a huge smile are priceless. I try to treasure each and every one of those moments as I know they are fleeting. I have really grown to hate pumping and only pump/bottle feed if I have to miss a feeding for some reason, otherwise I’m strictly breastfeeding. It’s easier now that he’s more efficient at eating. We’re not starting any solids yet but will start baby led weaning (skipping purees) around 6 months or later depending on when he can sit up unassisted and when he shows interest. It’ll be fun to start introducing him to new foods!
Exercise: Within the last few weeks I have finally had more of a regular workout routine. After Enzo was born I was way too tired to even think about exercising and then I completely lost all motivation to work out. After having Enzo I lost all my baby weight pretty much instantly but I’ve recently gained some of it back so I’m really working on eating better and working out more throughout the week. Even if I only squeeze in 30 minutes each day, it’s better than zero. I feel so much better when I know I’m taking care of myself so hopefully I can keep it up.
We drove back to Omaha this week and Enzo did amazing in the car. I was dreading the trip for weeks and constantly worrying about how he would handle the long drive. He cried for maybe 15 minutes total throughout the entire 14 hours and slept most of the time. I fed him in the car while Joe got gas and took care of the dogs. We played for a little bit and then he was content in his car seat until he got tired and took a nap. It was awesome! Hopefully the drive back goes just as smooth. It has been a blast introducing Enzo to our family and friends in Omaha.