Five!

Jude is five months old today. I completely missed the four-month post, because we were on the road for two weeks and our Internet wasn't working for the couple of days before we left. I'll have to make up for it with this one!

During his fifth month of life, Jude picked up four new states and re-visited New York and New Jersey. He also met many of our friends and family for the first time. We went to a Christmas party last weekend (delayed due to the weather over the holidays). Here's a photo of all of us with Grandma Miller.



Jude is still fairly uninterested in rolling over and moving around. He is reaching for objects and grabbing them if they are in reach. He loves the Exersaucer and Gymini, and even seems to enjoy the swing sometimes (as long as it's on the highest setting). He's not so fond of the jumper, although that may change as he gets a little older.

We've set up a little chair for him to use once he starts eating solids (which will be any day now) and he's getting better at sitting up in it. He's also doing really well with the Bumbo seat.





Jude has also learned a new trick - holding his own bottle. E Ben likes that one, since he can get the boy set up and then leave him to feed himself on the days when I'm at work!



Speaking of work, my going back to work has been a big adjustment for us all. Jude has had to get used to spending all day with his dad (which he loves) and eating from a bottle. I've had to learn to get by with fewer naps and frequent visits to the Nursing Mother's Room to try to pump enough milk to keep Jude happy. E Ben has had to get used to spending his days with just Jude sometimes, and also arranging his days so that Jude has the opportunity to take good naps.

We've also started looking around for some child-care help. Jude is asleep at night by 7pm, which is great, but it also means we can't really both leave the house unless we can find a sitter. It really helps our collective sanity to be able to get out from time to time, and a few of our friends have graciously offered to help us out by holding down the fort while we get out for a couple of hours. It's a pretty easy job, since Jude is asleep the whole time, but we really appreciate it. Thanks guys! You know who you are!

Speaking of sleep, Jude is usually a great sleeper. He falls asleep at around 7pm, eats once in the night (usually between 2am and 4am) and then wakes up at 7am happy and ready for the day. Some nights are not as good, but I think it's usually when he's either hungry or isn't feeling well. Since my return to work, Jude has seemed hungrier and my milk supply seems to be going down, so we've started supplementing with a little formula to keep him satisfied. I don't really have the time to pump as often as I would need to in order to get my supply back up, so we're going to do the best we can and supplement with formula as needed. We're also planning to start with some "solid" foods soon. Probably sweet potato first! We'll be sure to update with photos of his first meal!