Five Months Old!

Month four was a big one around our house! Kaden had a lot of milestones:

Sleeping Through The Night

Like most new parents, when Kaden was first born we would rock or nurse him to sleep. It started with five minutes, then it took ten, then fifteen, and so on until we were rocking for up to an hour. While this was tedious, we didn't mind because once he was asleep he tended to stay that way until morning. In looking for a way to shorten this routine, our pediatrician suggested the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It is pretty much a "cry it out" book. We tried a couple of times, but after listening to him scream for up to thirty minutes we gave up. Then, for one reason or another, the rocking ceased to work. Kaden would fall asleep in our arms and then, as soon as we made the move to put him down, he would wake up screaming. We had all that we could take when one night, after letting Kaden cry for thirty minutes, he went hoarse. Both Kevin and I felt horrible, like the worst parents in the entire world. That night, Kaden would sleep only on my chest - needless to say, neither of us slept very well. Convinced something was really wrong (ears, stomach, strange and heretofore unknown spinal injury...our minds went all kinds of places), I took him to the pediatrician that next morning. The doctor told us what my good friends, Emily and Jenny, had been telling me for a while: my son is strong-willed and that I should kiss him good-night and not go back into his room until morning.

So, we did it. After our bedtime routine - nurse, bathe (every other night), getting dressed for bed, reading a couple of books, singing a lullaby, and saying our prayers - we put Kaden to bed fully awake. Kaden cried on and off for two hours until he finally fell asleep. It was, by far, the most difficult thing I've ever had to listen to. So difficult, it took a bottle of wine to get through! The next night, it was an hour. Then, a half hour. Now, most nights, he goes down with only a minor protest. He is consistently sleeping from 7 or 7:30 PM until 7:30 AM. These twelve hours of sleep make him a MUCH happier little guy!

Isn't he the cutest little snuggle bug?

Solid Food

At our four month doctor's appointment, our pediatrician recommended starting Kaden on solids (see previous post for video). We started with rice, but he didn't go to the bathroom for three days! We tried oatmeal only to have the same experience. The longest span was Saturday to Saturday! Needless to say, my little guy didn't seem too comfortable. So, we went back to basics. We've stopped giving him cereal on a regular basis and now only give it to him every third night or so. I figure we'll start fruits and veggies at the end of the month, hopefully he won't have the same issues with those. It certainly doesn't look like he is starving though, does it?

Rolling Over

One morning, while I was watching him try to get back to sleep, he struggled for about an hour trying to flip onto his stomach. He finally got there and fell promptly asleep. Now, he does it all the time. Every time we go in to check on him at night, he is in a different position. He mostly turns in circles, but sometimes he flops back and forth from his belly to his back. His play mat can't contain him - not only does he flip over (and over and over again), he has learned to crawl. Early you say? Maybe I should better explain Kaden's crawl. It is different from most crawls in that he is on his back. Now that I think about it, it is more of a scooch. He bends his legs, pushes off his feet, and repeats. In doing this, he can scooch all over the place. OK...so he's not really crawling, but he sure is moving. Makes it a little difficult to get him to stay in one spot for these photos!

First Giggles

We finally heard Kaden giggle. It hasn't happened very often, and of course when it does it is in response to something goofy Kevin is doing, but it is the sweetest sound we've ever heard. We have yet to be able to capture this adorableness on film.

Tell Me About It

Kaden is talking to us about everything now. We have absolutely no idea what he is saying, but he seems pretty enchanted with his own voice. I have to admit, we are pretty enchanted too.