Gavin at 4 and 5 months

Well Gavin's fourth month of life came and want and I just never got around to writing about it on this blog. I feel kind of bad because I really don't do that many special things as a mom but this was one thing I really wanted to do to record Gavin's growth, but here we are only at 4 months and I already started getting behind. So I will just have to do his 4 and 5 month post as the same time.

Gavin at 4 months was a huge time of growth. At the beginning of month four he could still barely roll over from front to back and by the end he could do it in 3 seconds. At the beginning he could barely grasp things with his hands and now he is grabbing anything and everything in his reach. This was the month that I really finally feel like I don't have a little newborn anymore and now he is a big, babbling, bouncy baby.

Gavin's measurements at 4 months
Weight: 15.25 pounds 57%
Height: 25.5 inches 71%
Head: 16.1 inches 18%

Gavin is really growing fast. I am beginning to realize he is a lot bigger than babies that are his same age. When I make that observation people try to tell me its okay because he is a boy and that super annoys me. Who cares if he is a boy or a girl? I am perfectly fine with the size he is, it is just a casual observation and mostly it just means that he is a big kid, which is also fine. He is of course tall, which I pretty much knew he would be. One thing about him being so big is that he is starting to get pretty heavy to hold for long periods of time. He is a pretty solid kid. I absolutely love his little double chin and rolls on his thighs. He is so amazing and has a big broad shoulders just like his dad. He has big pudgy hands with little wrist rolls and dimples and I think it is just so perfect. That is just how a baby should be. Gavin definitely has brown eyes which are starting to get darker and darker. During month four he also pretty much lost all of the rest of his hair that he was born with. I didn't realize how fast he was losing it until all of the sudden it was gone! He spend a few good weeks pretty bald except for this long wisp in the front, which I find hilarious, especially when it blows in the wind. He finally started growing back some hair and we still can't tell if it will be blonde or brown because at different times it appears to be both.

I am beginning to be more confident in taking Gavin out by myself places. We went to the zoo for the first time with some of my sisters and their kids and of course he had no clue what was going on, but he seemed to enjoy himself. I love that his personality is coming out a lot more and that he is actually becoming a pretty easy going baby. He is not one to cry for no reason and he is pretty mild mannered. He is finally starting to find his voice and has started talking and making sounds a lot more. At the end of month 4 he finally is starting to giggle and laugh a lot more rather than just smiling.

One thing that made month 4 hard was a lot of sleep regression that we are still dealing with. It was like he slept like a dream for 2 weeks, even sleeping through the night most of the time, and then he got sick and it all went down hill. Hopefully things will start improving rather than getting worse.

Gavin at 5 Months

Weight (estimate) Probably about 17 pounds
Height (estimate) Probably close to 27 inches

At five months Gavin is growing like crazy. Outfits that were big on him just two weeks ago now fit him perfectly and any 3 month outfits that recently fit him are way too small. I swear he is changing before my eyes every day. I think he will be rolling from back to front soon. He kicks his legs to hard and gets so close to rolling over that he ends of just pivoting in circles around his play mat. He is pretty much fitting into 6 month clothes perfectly and I think in a few weeks we will have to transition him into 6-9 month clothes. We started him on solids at 5 months just to get his taste buds going. So far he has tasted sweet potatoes, peas, pears, carrots, bananas, prunes, and multi grain cereal. His favorite so far had been the peas, pears, and prunes, but he pretty much has liked everything. It is funny because I was so excited to start solids and could not wait for him to be that old, but when we gave them to him I got really sad that he was so old! I know that is just a mom/parent thing, but I get super nostalgic already about how little he was and how fast he is growing.

We took Gavin on his first ever camping trip to Moab and it was a success! I was super nervous that it would be a disaster but he did great. In fact he probably slept better than anyone else on the trip. I won't lie, it was pretty exhausting for me. Normally I love going to Moab, and I knew it would not be the same as when Sam and I have been before, but it was a lot of work. I felt like we packed everything we owned in our car, and the whole thing kind of felt like a ton of preparation and getting kids ready to go and very little actually doing anything. We did manage to go on a short hike in Arches, we played at the park with my sister and her kids while the men went biking, we walked around town for about 15 minutes and went to dinner. That was pretty much it. It was nice to just get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine. It was a good step for us to see how well Gavin did and it makes me hopeful for future outings.

Honestly Gavin is pretty much a delight. I love his sweet smiles and giggles. I love how much he loves to kick his little legs and wiggle his arms. I love his drooling face and that he has started learning how to gurgle and spit with delight. I love the look he gives me in the morning when he wakes up like he is beyond happy to see me. I love the way he looks at Sam and is becoming a bit of a Daddy's boy. I love how warm and friendly he is to everyone that will take the time to give him a smile. I love his wispy hair. I love his deep brown eyes. I love the way he has started to touch my face when I am nursing him or when he pats his own head for comfort when he is tired. I love when he gazes into my eyes when I tell him stories or sing him songs before bed. I love his chubby thighs and big chest. I absolutely love his big round cheeks. I love when he just lets me hold him for a while without wiggling too much when he is tired (that is the closest we come to really snuggling). I just love my little Gavin. I am a little sad that he is no longer my little newborn but at the same time I love seeing him grow and learn new things right before my eyes. I can't wait until I get to be home with him all day instead of dividing my time at work. It was nice to have my spring break and just be a mom for a week. I feel like I was able to bond with Gavin even more and just appreciate my time with him. Motherhood definitely has been a struggle for me and I am so grateful to have this healthy, happy, wonderful baby boy to help me through it. He is such a good baby and I am so lucky to be his mom.