5 Months

It is so true what new moms hear starting from the moment their little bundle of joy is born. It really does go fast. We're already looking back on the early photos and remarking on how small Milo was, all skinny limbs and wide eyes, now reminding me of a bird rather than the little person he is now. At 5 months, Milo is somewhere in the 19 pound range and his limbs can no longer be described as skinny. He's a solid package of little boy sweetness, looking less and less young baby like each day.

We're now old pros at grabbing items and feel more comfortable holding something soft for nap time (a blankie, a lovey toy or even a wash cloth). When Milo wants to he can roll over from both tummy to back and back to tummy. He can also stay in an unsupported sitting position for about 30 seconds before starting to be the leaning tower of Milo and slowly falling to the floor.

Milo continues to be a smiley and alert baby. Whenever he is in a new place with new people, he looks around and takes it all in. We can almost see him thinking about his surroundings. He has a smile for just about everyone, but he continues to think Grandpa Gatto is the funniest human alive. Whether it is my Dad's big and dark looks or his deep voice, Milo just convulses into giggles each time they get together.

Together we survived Milo's first ear infection this past month. He didn't give us many clues his ears were infected, so I'm glad we took him to the pediatrician to check him out. The pediatrician continues to think he has some food allergies, so I've cut dairy, peanuts and tree nuts out of my diet. I also limit eggs and soy. Consequently, Milo spits up less, but we still have some spots of eczema. Due to the possible allergy issues, I've put off solid foods. Today will be the rice cereal day.

This month (6 months!) we'll look forward to Milo's first road trip and meeting some of Chris' extended family over Labor Day weekend.

An Everyday Moment

Chris walks into the bathroom carrying Milo, they stop and play the baby in the mirror game. Then, with shampoo suds still in my hair, I peek out around the curtain to greet my boys. Milo is freshly changed and dressed in his school clothes. It tickles Milo that Mommy appears from behind the curtain all soaking wet. We get big gummy smiles and little boy giggles. Leaning over I kiss Milo's cheek while breathing in his sweet baby smell. Chris and I kiss goodbye. Wishes for good days are exchanged. I return to my shower with a sense of contentment and ease. Another day in our life has begun.

Makes It Easier

Milo has been in daycare for about two months. While it was tough in the beginning, I've gotten used to him being there during the day. Chris does the dropping off in the morning and I've come to anticipate the morning e-mail letting me know how the little guy did. This week I read just about the cutest thing ever: Milo was happy and all of his friends flocked to see him when he arrived.

Although I miss being with Milo every day, I can appreciate that he is being socialized. I think it is great he is spending time with other babies and learning how to be part of a group. It just makes me feel better about the day care arrangement.

What makes me feel even better is that the teachers at the day care really like Milo. They seem to agree with us that he is someone special. I try to go visit once a week during lunch and I like to hear about all the things Milo does during the day - recently he has started to hold his own bottle. When I'm there I can tell he is comfortable and at ease with his caregivers. He gives special smiles to his teachers - one teacher even has a special dance she does for Milo and he explodes into laughter.

Know that Milo is well liked by the people - both big and small - who is shares his days with makes it a little easier for me to spend my days away from him.

Don't You Dairy

I often get caught up in the diet advice of whatever I happen to be reading. Which means I will stick to the prescribed advice for just a week or so - Atkins diet, South Beach, Weight Watchers - they've all had short term stints in my life. I've never stuck with any of them long. More recently though I've been much more interested in nutrition rather than diet, maybe because for the last year another human as been depending on me and what I eat for his development. So I try to keep up with my fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein and dairy products. It's this last one that seems to possibly be causing a problem in before-mentioned young human. Milo has been a big spitter upper from pretty young, but lately it's gotten worse. Like two or three times after each feeding worse. So yes, pretty much constant spitting up. He also is congested and a little wheezy. His skin has patches of itchy and angry looking eczema. His doctor took a look and thinks he is reacting to the dairy I'm eating. She doesn't think he has a severe allergy, but certainly a sensitivity. So off of dairy I go.

I've meant to do it in the past, this cutting dairy out of my diet. I would like the promised more energy and renewed focus. I had even gone so far as to download the challenge information at godairyfree.com, but the daily journal has been sitting unopened on my desktop for well over a year and a half and the blog entry I started to write about the experience still sits in draft form. Turns out without really good motivation, I'm just not willing to skip cheese on pizza or cream in coffee. Looking at Milo's itchy little eyes though is reason enough for me to at least see if the cow protein is the problem. And if it's not, I could really use that energy and renewed focus.

Four Months

Gosh, to be honest this past month was pretty much a blur. I'm trying to rember the highlights - and there were some really great moments - but for the most part it's been a rush of getting out the door in the mornings, walks and quick dinners in the evenings and then falling into bed exhausted at the end of it all. And that's the whole family, not just Milo.

Milo is becoming a different baby each day and is growing up so quickly. Where he used to mainly smile at people, he is now also more interested in toys. He likes to hold onto something soft - like his friend Ears the bear, a blanket, or a teething toy - when he is riding in the car or going down for a nap. Speaking of naps, we struggle with those a bit. On the weekends I can usually get him down for a nap, but at day care they just don't have the time for my book, cuddle, nap routine. If naps are trade off for good nights, I'll take the good nights. Since I've been back to work, Milo has been waking up a couple of times a week for a feeding in the middle of the night. It's not all that bad, but since I was used to a solid 8 - 9 hours for two months, it's been an adjustment.

Tummy time is going great if he's in a good mood. Overall though he has really good head strength and can kind of sit up supported. We've transitioned him to riding in the stroller without the carrier for evening walks and he likes to look ahead and see what is coming. We were on a roll again for a couple days, but it's just not a skill he wants to stick around.

Our little guy (or not so little at 17 pounds, 13 ounces and more than 25 inches now), is quite the talker. He babbles to us a lot and we love having little conversations with him. Milo's smiler is still working and his grins just light up the room.

Next month we look forward to the introduction of solid foods!

A Friend

Before they went Christmas shopping that year, my parents stopped for a few drinks. My brothers and I were probably home with Grandma and my parents were fully taking advantage of a night without kids. The story goes that those few drinks helped my mom convince my dad to buy me a certain bear with a yellow tracksuit. Albert the Running Bear quickly became my favorite stuffed animal and friend. Dad has been known to say it is the best $75 he has ever spent.

Albert traveled rather extensively with us, to visit family in Canada and several trips to Florida. There are few childhood pictures of me that don't feature the bear. Albert came along to college where he was the victim of a brief bearnapping (luckily the perpetrator sent me ransom notes via e-mail so I quickly got the bear back). Albert may or may not still sleep with me.

A few years ago, I tried my hand at bidding for an Albert on eBay. I lost several auctions that year. Evidently like new condition Alberts are now a collectors item and some people want them for collections. I wanted a "new" Albert to share with any little guy or girl who would come my way.

With Milo now showing more interest in stuffed animals, I decided to try my luck at eBay again. I found an Albert with a green tracksuit and the original tags on it. I was lucky enough to be the high bidder.

Albert the Running Bear (green) is on his way to our house. At this point, the bear and Milo are about the same size, but when Milo is three years old, I plan on giving him his very own Albert. I can only hope he finds a friend as true as I did.

The Other Thing

Other than wondering how Prada is taking the whole living with a baby thing, people most often ask me how cloth diapering is going. Here's the thing: we do cloth diaper, but not all the time. Evenings and weekends are spent in cloth, overnights and days at daycare are spent in disposables.

This arrangement is working out really well for us. I figure some cloth is better than no cloth and each time we have his little butt in a cloth diaper, that is one less disposable diaper in the landfill. There is also some research out there that suggests cloth diapers aren't really better for the environment (because of the water and energy that goes into washing them), so I think striking a balance is a good thing.

Even with the little bit we use the cloth diapers, there is the washing and at this point it really isn't bad at all. First of all, since he's breastfed, even the dirty diapers aren't too dirty. I know this will gross some people out, but we just put the dirty diapers in our laundry machine. We do a pre-soak and an extra rinse and use additive free detergent. From there they go for a quick spin in the dryer (although I do plan on line drying them if we ever get the backyard clothesline back up).

Milo does seem to notice a wet or dirty cloth diaper more than he does a soiled disposable diaper. I'm hoping this works out in our favor by the time potty training comes around. In the meantime, we'll keep using the cloth as much as we can because I like the benefits to them...and he looks adorable in them.