Gavin's Fifth Month

Gavin turned 5 months last week and I wasn't able to post an update on what's new with my little man. Since I've been pretty much pre-occupied with work and home, it kinda slipped my mind that he turned another month older.

Gavin's doing great at daycare. In fact, he loves it there that every day, he seems to be wanting to stay there than be with me. Whenever I pick him up, he's always happy. The daycare lady told me that Gavin's quite fond of books. Everytime he starts to act fussy, she would just read him a picture book and he'll calm down. He's favorite book is the one with photos of babies in it (I forgot the title).

Gavin's front teeth is also starting to come out. Last week, he had a slight case of diarrhea which turns out to be one of the signs that he's teething. I bought him this teether wherein you could put real food in it and it really helps relieve the discomforts. He loves it when I put pieces of banana or a small slice of apple.

With regards to food, Gavin has already tried a wide variety of mixed fruits and vegetables. And since I really couldn't feed him anything with chicken, he's starting to get use to enjoying a "meatless" diet. He's not a picky eater and consumes anything I feed him, from mashed peas (that smells and tastes like mungo) and buttersquash to apples with mixed cereals and cinnamon. His all-time favorite would be a combination of bananas, apples and peaches.

At 5 months, he can now roll over without help, hold his bottle by himself, laugh when you make funny faces, reach for his toys, have a good time in a jumperoo and sleep by himself at night. He can now fit into 12-month-sized clothes, size 3 diapers and size 2-3 shoes. I can now carry him in a Snugli facing forward and could sit in his strolled in an upright position. He loves reaching for his toes, grabbing into whatever he could reach and play with his toys.

My little man's growing up so fast that sometimes I wish I was a stay-at-home mom so that I wouldn't miss out on the new things he learns everyday. Now that he spends 10 hours aways from me, I feel like I wasn't there to witness certain moments in Gavin's everyday, even the simple things about him. I really have been spending less time with him since he usually goes straight to bed once we get home from daycare. But in our situation right now, being a working mom is the only option for me to give everything that he needs (and Jenna's as well). I'm sure he knows that I love him despite the lack of time we spend together. And I won't get tired to reminding him how much love I have for him.

Here are a few pictures of Gavin (at 5 months)











Gavin's teether

Your 4-month-old's development: Week 1

Beginning to understand the role of language
Researchers believe that your baby can now understand all the basic sounds that make up his native language. Between this time and 6 months of age, your baby will develop the ability to make some vocal sounds, which means you may hear the words you've been dreaming about, namely "ma-ma" or "da-da." While child development experts say it's too early for your baby to connect those sounds with you and your partner, that won't make hearing them any less exciting.

You can encourage your baby's attempts at communication by mirroring or imitating his expressions and sounds. He may try to imitate you now, too. Say "baa" and he may try to say it back.

Reacting when your baby makes noises or tries to say something will help your baby learn the importance of language. It'll also help him better understand cause and effect. It's great for his self-esteem, too. He'll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference.

Expand on what your baby says and try to give it meaning. For example, you can say, "Yes, that is a ball!" Soon, his "ba" will become "ball."

Time for solid food?
For the first four to six months of life, your baby gets all the nutrients he needs from breast milk or formula. Still, parents are often eager to start their babies on solid food.

It's true that your baby's digestive tract is more developed now and his tongue-thrust reflex is starting to fade, so it seems a logical time to start feeding him some solids, such as pureed baby food or cereal. But there are good reasons to wait, too.

Starting solids later may cut down on possible allergic reactions, and ensures that breast milk or formula won't get crowded out of your baby's diet. And if you're hoping that eating solids will help your baby sleep through the night, studies have shown that you can't count on that happening.

The debate over when to start solids continues. If you're unsure about when to introduce them to your baby, talk to his doctor.

Source: Baby Center

Gavin's Recent Well-Baby Appointment

Last Friday, Gavin and I went to the doctor for his well-baby and immunization appointment. Sophie tag along since I was in-charge of picking her up that day and I didn't want to run back and forth just to get her on time. I had to leave work early as well just so I wouldn't miss the appointment. I actually had to reschedule it for a Friday so that I would only have to miss two hours from work.

At four months, Gavin now weighs almost 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. The doctor said he's such a active baby, moving around and smiling a lot. He kept kicking the doctor while she was examining him and even drooled on her hand when she was checking his ears and throat. He had his second dose of vaccination and although he cried after each injection (he had 4), the nurse was able to calm him down right away with some toys for him to play with.

Unfortunately, Gavin acquired something from me that I wish he didn't. The doctor said that Gavin has the early signs of asthma. He's got the wheezing sound when he breathes and he even has the dry patches on his body which indicates skin asthma. And since he started eating, the doctor advised me not to give him anything with peanuts, chicken or egg until he's about a year old. For his skin maintenance, I have to continue applying Vaseline on the dry spots and only give him baths twice a week. Good thing he smells good all the time now that he can't have a bubble bath every other day like before.

Although he doesn't have any breathing problems at the moment, I feel so guilty for passing on to him something that might hinder him from having an active childhood. Despite all the medications to control asthma, there is still that slight possibility that this might stop him from doing things that he might want to do in the future. I know it's too early to predict such things since his asthma could simply go away once he's older. But still, I hate to think of what could happen if it didn't.

The doctor assured me that Gavin's a healthy baby despite finding out about his asthma. He's not showing any signs of struggled breathing and he's growing right on track. He's actually 60% above average with regards to his weight and height. Anyway, he'll have to go back in two months for another well-baby visit. He's a strong boy and I know that this is just another phase he'll grow out eventually.