Holy crap, it’s been five months! I missed the four-month post, but I’ll catch you up. I feel like the boys have changed a lot since they were three months old. First of all, let’s talk about grabbing. The boys have officially discovered their hands and are grabby, grabby, grabby! Adam led the charge and started grabbing things first – now he grabs everything! He has become very good about picking up toys, blankets, and other little objects (to put them in his mouth). Zach can grab things too, but does it in a more stealthy way. You might find a burp cloth or a wipe taken away from you if you’re not careful. Zach is also very interested in how his hands work. We often catch him with one hand in front of his face, moving his fingers slowly, staring at it as if to determine how exactly it works. This one’s gonna be a thinker!
The boys are still a handful, but they are starting to become more independent. Zach is starting to become fond of his bouncers and enjoys sitting in them when he’s outside with his GiGi. Adam, who historically demanded more attention from the both of us, is starting to make huge strides with independence. Part of it is because he can now pick up toys and put them in his mouth. The other part is that he can now sit up on his own. It’s awesome. He’ll just sit on the floor with a pillow behind him and play with his toys, sometimes for as long as an hour! He seems to get frustrated less and is content for longer periods of time. Zach is starting to sit a little bit, but seems to view sitting as more of a chore than a skill he needs to use. He’d rather stand but he is able to sit; we just need to work with him on it.
The last couple of months have been tough for us because Adam came down with pneumonia. It started as a cold and a cough and slowly got worse and worse until he had to stay out of day care, get an x ray, and start taking amoxicillin. He got the entire house sick in the process so times were tough for a bit. It took almost three weeks of medication and nebulizers for his pneumonia to clear, but it is finally gone and he is much happier.
We hoped that he’d start sleeping through the night again once he was better, but that wasn’t the case. We’ve been working with the pediatrician to keep his acid reflux in check while also trying to figure out why he wakes up 3-4 times a night screaming in terror. After a couple of weeks of terrible nights, we finally decided that it was behavioral and have started sleep training. We put him in the crib and let him cry for up to 10 minutes. If he is still hysterical after 10 minutes, we comfort him, otherwise we wait. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, we do the same. We started last night and he woke up 3 or 4 times, but he made it through the night. He was a much happier baby today as a result. We were also happier parents. Zach unfortunately was a bit cranky because his sleep was interrupted by some of Adam’s screaming from the night before. We’re trying it again tonight and hopefully Zach will get better sleep. So far this is the most promising thing that we’ve done. Maybe both of our boys will be sleeping through the night in a couple of weeks!
Speaking of sleeping through the night, I have to say thanks to Zach for sleeping so well for the last two months. I don’t know what we would have done if he didn’t sleep through the night. Adam’s fits could take up to 3 hours out of our night each evening and sometimes it brought both of us to the edge. Having at least one baby that could sleep was a blessing. Thanks Zach!
Both of the boys are becoming more social. They both smile and laugh at people. It doesn’t matter if you are family or a stranger, if you smile, they smile back. We’re incredibly proud to bring them out and watch them charm people. They really seem happy! Adam is quite a talker and loves to tell stories. Zach is big on the giggling and both of them are ticklish. There has been a lot of laughter in the house lately and it’s been great.
The boys have come such a long way in the past two months. Adam is sitting up, Zach is starting to roll over in his crib, we’re starting to feed them cereal again, they are more independent, and more social. It’s so exciting. Car rides still need a bit of work but we’re getting there. We’re really excited about the next few months. They might be crawling by Christmas! We’re definitely still busy but things are starting to get fun. Babies are simply amazing!
Relatively Ambitious 