5 Months Already???

Can I just begin with... what?!! Seriously this little tough guy is already 5 months old? I cannot believe that time has gone by so quickly. He is such a growing boy and continues to keep me on my toes every day.

We have had quite a month this past month; between hospital visits, me going back to work and Carter starting to roll our lives have been pretty busy, but we have truly enjoyed every minute.

Carter continues to grow and is a whopping 18 pounds 4 ounces! People keep telling me that the growing will slow down but so far, we haven't seen that. At this rate Carter will be in a new car seat by the time he is a year old. We are thrilled that he is getting so big because it's such a great sign of him leaving his preemie status and "being a real boy!" (I know you all read that in the Pinocchio voice.)

Smiling at the Camera already?! Love it. 

Although his height still isn't too far along he has been growing and has another inch to add  ;). At Carter's last appointment he was in the 87%ile for weight and the 17% for height but lets face it, Mike and I knew that height was not in the cards for Carter but we are okay with that because it gives us more rolls to love.

This little boy is learning more with each passing day and is so active! We are lucky if he takes two naps a day (about 20 minutes and a second for maybe 2 hours), because he is so involved and alert with what is going on in the world around him. We wake up and he eats and gets his new outfit for the day on. We spend about 30 minutes hanging out under his jungle gym because now that he can reach for things he LOVES trying to pull down every animal he can. From there we practice tummy time and rolling over; sometimes he enjoys this and other times he loathes it. Another change and then it's around this time Carter starts getting sleepy and may take a quick nap or it's time to help mom around the house! I have a Moby wrap and I get some good snuggle time while I take care of things around the house.

Eventually we go back to eating, another diaper change and I read about 4-5 books to Carter to see if a nap may happen as I read, plus more snuggling (have I mentioned I love to snuggle with this bundle of rolls? ;0). After a nap Carter wakes up read to talk, and boy does this guy talk... a lot. He loves the 'l' and the 'g' sounds and will mimic anything you try to say to him. Mike and I love listening to him talk to us and listen to him giggle when we make sounds back at him.

While he talks he sits in his sit-and-play Fisher Price chair, and it's the best thing I have bought so far! He really likes sitting up and this supports his head, neck, and back but gives him the chance to practice sitting and looking around. I would recommend this to any new mom who wants a safe play area to work on sitting, seriously, it's amazing.

Coolest chair ever!!

We try some more tummy time and rolling, work on some physical therapy stretches and movements to help with Carter's leg movement and working on his right foot specifically. (Food and diapers are always in the mix somewhere.) After some PT we make dinner together and sing. I have a Disney Pandora station and I sing every song that I know to him. Recently while I sing he makes sounds back at me and it's probably the best part of the day to share that time together and hang out singing. Once Mike shows up we eat dinner and hang out as a family of three.

By 9:00PM Carter is usually passed out and Mike and I are close to it too. The greatest part is that Carter is still sleeping through the night and for that we are SO THANKFUL!!

Mike and I continue to be grateful for all of the wonderful things that have happened in Carter's life and that he is thriving and is such a happy, smiley little boy. His next neuro. appointment isn't until May and we look for the signs in case anything is happening with his shunt but are thankful that things are looking great!

In the meantime, I'm going to go snuggle up some more before this little man falls asleep for the night :)

Sitting on his own... kindof ;)

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