{Micah Owen - 5 Months}

Micah, you are five months old!

It has been a joy to watch you grow and develop this last month. You started the month off in a 'stormy" period according to the Wonder Weeks app which tracks your developments. We noticed that you wanted to be near us more. You preferred being held and fussed if we walked away from you in the room. As the month has progressed, you have been a bit more independent and less concerned about where we are at. Even while being clingy, you are a happy guy. You have the sweetest giggle and love when we tickle your tummy, make silly sounds, or kiss under your chin. You also have a fantastically loud shriek to let us know that you are delighted with whatever is happening.

 

As you have been growing, your wake windows during the day have stretched out. You are now awake for 2 hours before you are ready to be put down for a nap or bedtime. You let us know that you are sleepy by rubbing your eyes or even getting pink cheeks and red brows. When Mama or Papa are busy doing something and you're tired, you make sure to let us know with some cranky cries.

 

During this last month, Papa decided it was time to transition you out of the swing and into the crib for naps. He spent a weekend working with you in the crib. You adjusted to the changes pretty quickly. During the day you usually nap between 45 minutes and up to 2 hours. Some days you need extra comfort and we give you your pacifier to help sleep.

 

At night you consistently go to bed between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. Your long stretch of sleep is between 9 and 11 hours. We have been working with you on dropping a middle of the night bottle. If you wake up before 6am we offer you a pacifier to help you fall back to sleep. Most mornings you take it and fall back to sleep on your own. Usually if you are up before 6am you're scooting around and playing in your crib - trying out your new skills.

 

Micah, this last month you have gotten more capable of pulling things to your mouth and picking up your toys to play with. Just a week prior to turning 5 months you started rolling from your back to your stomach. Being on your tummy is still not your favorite position, so when you get tired of playing on your tummy you cry out for help. You also do not like when you roll onto your tummy while you're sleeping. Four days after you started rolling to your tummy, you figured out how to roll from your tummy to your back, though you' are not super strong with that move and so you still get stuck on your tummy. This last month you started playing in your exersaucer and you have been loving it. At first you were sitting in it and looking around, but now you joyfully jump up and down and even practice standing in it. It is fun to watch you bounce and shriek with delight.  

 

Micah, you love your brothers. Whenever they enter the room you make sure to track everything they are doing. You especially like when they lay next to you on your mat or play with you while you are in your exersaucer. If your big brothers are running around the upstairs, you track them everywhere they go and curiously wonder where they are at when they dip behind the wall into the kitchen. You have also shown a lot of interest in the dog recently. We are not sure if you like Jade or not, but you pay extra close attention to her whenever she comes your way.

 

You recently went on your first camping adventure and you loved it! Mama shared a tent with you and you enjoyed having her close by. One morning when you woke up too early, you snuggled with mama in the sleeping bag and fell back to sleep. You seemed to enjoy all of the outside time and watching your brothers. You did struggle at night from around 7:30-9pm when it was still pretty bright out and noisy from other campsites. Once things started getting dark and quiet you would fall asleep quickly. 

 

You have also been enjoying getting out on hikes with the family. Papa has been wearing you while we are out and you love that and you enjoy looking around. You've been very happy when we have been getting out and you go with the flow.

 

Micah during this next month we think you are looking forward to spending some time on the beach to celebrate mama and papa's wedding anniversary.

Here are some photos from your fifth month.

{Micah Owen - 4 Months}

Micah Owen you are four months old!

You had some big changes this last month. We not only moved you from your bassinet to your crib, we also moved your room from downstairs to upstairs. You have embraced the changes! The best part of each morning is getting you out of your crib. You are all smiles when you see mama, papa, or even one of your big brothers.

Micah at four months old you are so cute and chunky. You weigh 19lbs, 7oz (93rd percentile) and you are 26.2 inches long (89th percentile). We have had to bump you up from 6 month sized clothes to 9 month sized clothes. You continue to love grabbing at toys hanging above you and holding onto toys and bringing them to your mouth. You are often sticking one or two fingers in your mouth to suck on, and you spend more time with your hands open rather than clenched into fists. You have also been grabbing at clothes and hair. One day, Levi was trying to snuggle you and you got a good handful of his curls! You have still not done any rolling. Some days you seem close to rolling as you turn your body almost the whole way, but then you return back to your back. You also still have not taken to tummy time. So mama and papa keep trying with you.

You continue to be a great sleeper. You are consistently starting your bedtime routine at 7pm and are usually asleep by 7:30pm. Your long stretch of sleep as been around 8-10 hours each night. You are still taking your naps in the swing and that has been working for you.

Around us, the Shelter in Place Order has been lifted, but we are not able to gather with groups larger than five. So your social circle remains small. We've been trying to get out for family walks whether in the neighborhood or we have gone to Hamlin Park to walk in the woods. You love being outside and in the carrier. You just chew on the straps and look at the world around you.

During this next month Micah, we think you are looking forward to celebrating Father's Day, going on some family hikes, and your first camping trip!

Here are a few photos from your fourth month!

{Micah - 3 Months}

Micah Owen, you are three months old!

You are growing so fast little Micah! It is a joy to watch you develop and change each day. And yet you are growing too fast, it weighs on your mama's heart. You currently weigh just over 17 pounds. Micah, we love your sweet disposition, your big smiles, your coos and your squeals. You have even laughed for us a few times. Your brothers love seeing what you are up to each day. Your big brother Levi asks where you are each morning and finds you to give you a big kiss. Elijah is often on the floor with you looking at the toys hanging on your play mat. You are loved little Mikey!

Micah these days you are very interested in your hands. You are realizing that you have control over them. You are often staring at your hands and then will try to hit one of the animals hanging from your play mat or you are bringing them to your mouth and trying to figure out how to get your whole hand inside of your mouth. You are still figuring out how to open your hands, most of the time you keep them in fists.

Your favorite activity is definitely sitting up or putting weight on your feet. You love to be up and looking around. You enjoy when mama pulls you up to sitting and then you like to put your feet under you and push up. You are such a strong little guy. You still have not found a love for tummy time. Mama put up a mirror for you to look at while you practice. You tolerate tummy time for around two minutes and then you are done! You let out the saddest cry to let us know that you do not want to be on your tummy.

Micah you continue to be a great sleeper. Between night and daytime sleep you average around 16 hours of sleep a day. You have gotten into a more streamlined bedtime and your routine starts between 7:30pm-8pm and you are asleep between 8pm and 8:30pm. We dropped your 10pm dream feed and you started sleeping between 8-10 hours at night. You would wake up usually around 5-6am, eat, and then fall back to sleep for another 1-2 hours. We recently transitioned you to sleeping without your swaddle and for the first few nights that impacted how you were sleeping. While you adjusted, you went back to two wake ups at night. After a few nights like this, you  figured it out and started sleeping 9-10 hour stretches. During the day you still like to take your naps in the swing. You've been sleeping great like that, so we are waiting a bit longer before we move you out of the swing. You are taking two to three solid naps a day and have one more small sleep to tide you over until bedtime. You are doing an amazing job of falling to sleep on your own at night and you have moments of waking up at night, fussing for a few minutes and then putting yourself back to sleep.

You continue to spend most days at home while we are under stay at home orders. Your big adventures this month were to go in for a check up to get your vaccinations and we went on a big car ride for Mother's Day. We also get out for walks on the weekend and you love when papa wears you. 

Micah you did great at your check up when you got your vaccinations, but you had a harder time once we were home and your legs hurt. By the next day you were back to your happy self.

Here are a few photos from your third month of life: