Walter-5 Months

Weight: He finally seems to be filling out and getting those baby rolls. I admittedly forgot to weigh him, and he is already down for the night. Whoops. My guess is he is around 15 lbs.

Health: I think he may have allergies like the rest of us. He has had a runny nose and a little cough the last couple weeks. Other than that he is doing so well.

Diet: As I reflect on my breastfeeding experiences, this has been the best feeding journey I have had between the three. While it was rocky for a while there in the beginning, now it is just smooth sailing. I don’t feel like I am fretting about it as much as I did with the other two. He is growing, and I am not feeling like I am bending over backwards to make that happen. We still have all of our freezer stash untouched as well, so I feel good about that and the possibility that we will not need formula as quickly as we did with the others. Walt feeds 6 or 7 times a day, and on average it adds up to 2.5 hours of nursing. He is going 3-4 hours between feedings during the day. My app says that we have had 175 feedings over this last month, and spent 3 days feeding him. I have also pumped 12 times over the month, and I am pumping just enough on the days I am at work for the next time. We have not started the solids yet. He still is a little too bobbleheady for me to feel like he is ready, even though our pediatrician did give us the “all clear.” We’ll just continue with only breastmilk for probably the next month.

Clothes: He is in 3 month clothes and size 2 diaper. I have to say it has been fun getting out the clothes that his older siblings have worn and jumping back to their baby times. I also love babies in rompers and seeing the baby thighs.

Sleeping: This kid is a dream baby with sleep. For the most part anytime we lay him down, he will eventually go to sleep. He goes to bed around 8pm. Then I wake him up at 10pm for a feeding, and then he goes right back down. I get him up at 5:15am. I am not changing the overnight piece for another little bit. He has either woken up around that 10pm time or he has started waking me up around 4:30/5, so I do not think I could skip that 10pm feeding. And honestly this isn’t a big deal since I am usually still up at that time. He typically takes two naps during the day, but they aren’t usually very long. He is still sleeping in a pack and play in our room overnight. We may stop that soon so we can use the pack and play when we are all outside to give him a little freedom without us holding on to him. I would say that 9/10 times, we are able to put him down awake, and he falls asleep within 5 minutes. We are still using the magic merlin suit, but I think this may be the last month for it.

Likes: His favorite person is Daphne. He is always scanning the room looking for her, and he laughs so hard at her. He has this one teether that he loves more than any others. It is like a tiny barbell that he can hold on to really well with a bunch of knobs on the ends. He likes VocabuLarry. He also love his activity play yard. He moves all around it and likes kicking all the toys around. He will only snuggle with my mom.

Dislikes: He still isn’t so happy about baths. He does not like being held laying down. If you cradle him, he will wriggle around to get in a more seated/upright position.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wally Olly, Butters, Sweet Bean, and Stinkerdoodle. We also have adopted most of Daphne’s nicknames: Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter. I think the most common are Wally Bear and Waltie.

Milestones: He has rolled from front to back twice. He seems to be like, “I did this thing so the pediatrician won’t worry but now I am content never rolling again.” He does get to his side from his back, but he doesn’t completely roll over. He will completely turn himself around in circles on the mat. We also put him in the activity jumper for the first time this week.

Quirks: He is still pretty stoic. It is like he is trying to take in everything before he thoughtfully makes a reaction. He definitely has a fear of missing out. Lately when we have been doing stuff throughout the day, he does his best to stay awake to watch everything.

We parents are: hanging in there. Tom has been on the midnight shift this past month, so we have all been just kind of existing. It has been tricky to get the quality time as a family since we are trying to just make it through this month. I am excited though for the upcoming month with the potential for more time outside and our garden. Today also ends the spring semester at my institution, so I feel like summer is here which makes me happy. I also have been reflecting a lot lately with the end of the term how far things have come in the last year. It was about this time last year that I found out I was pregnant with Wally bear, and then to do all that we have done during a pandemic….what a time!

Big kids are: really great siblings in their own ways. It is hard to believe that George is in his last month of kindergarten. He is also having a ball with soccer, even though he is such a space cadet about it. Daphne does things on her own schedule, which is a blessing and a curse all together. She is just the best big sister. She loves making up stories and songs for Wally, and she lives for his reaction. She is a performer for sure!

Grace is: just living her best life. It has been really interesting watching her transition back to being an only dog again. She seems to be a little more frantic and actually gets up during the day to check on all the people and things. We think it is like she realizes she was taking a backseat to being a dog when Crosby was around. He was such an alpha, she didn’t really need to do anything. She has definitely filled in barking at all the things and being more present. She still is fairly lazy, but she doesn’t just lay around the couch for most of the day anymore. It’s a happy thing and sad all at the same time.