Porter | 5 months

Porter P seems to be aging at a rapid pace now and I swear I just wrote his four month post yesterday. He is five months old and that seems impossible on all fronts: in one way it seems like he's been here forever and should be much older, and in another sense it feels like his birthday couldn't have possibly been five WHOLE months ago. Again: Time is a wicked beast, isn't it?







It goes without saying that I am completely obsessed with Porter, possibly even more so with each passing day. This is a SUPER fun stage of babyhood for me in general, since we are settled into a sort of routine, sleeping a little better, and he isn't mobile or naughty just yet;) Adding to the general fun of five months, is the fact that Porter might be the happiest baby in the history of ever. For real. He smiles his face off, will laugh at us when we make a funny face or sound, and he's extremely ticklish. His happiness definitely rubs off on the rest of us because how can you be sad when this little chub is grinning back at you?









Porter is also really into blowing raspberries, squealing, and drooling buckets of saliva this month. He needs a bib most days and I guess he is 'teething' but I'm not expecting an actual tooth to pop until six months----when the other two kids got their first teeth. P is putting everything in his mouth (i.e. clothes, toys, my hands, etc) and is really focused on reaching for objects. I love when babies get this super serious look on their faces as they aim their pudgy palms at something in front of them. Love it. He enjoys gnawing on our (albino, very aged) Sophie the Giraffe and still loves his play yard with dangling animals for added delight.





(very advanced, checking his social media)


He isn't rolling over yet, but just like his siblings he is mastering the side-roll. Porter actually did roll from his tummy to back for the first time this month, but it was totally on accident since his heavy noggin tipped his center of mass a little past the balance point one day in the kitchen. He was as shocked as I was when his bald head smacked the hard wood. Sorry, buddy! P can sorta kinda prop sit but usually he just goes right for his toes in the mouth when he is sitting on our laps or on the couch. He's discovered his feet and apparently they are just as tasty as his hands!



(picking out his first Christmas tree was the highlight of his week, obvi).




Porter took his first triple bath with his crazy siblings, using the Bumbo seat like CC used to do. I forgot the secret trick of using very little water in the tub to prevent Bumbo flotage, so I had to hold him down the entire time while praying he didn't flip out of there somehow. But subsequent sessions have been much less scary. He also sits in his (new to us) Boon highchair now during some meals, instead of always sitting on my lap. And seriously, this kid wants FOOD NOW. We haven't done any rice cereal or oatmeal yet and I think we'll probably skip that stuff again and head right to veggies once he hits six months. Because, again, I like to do things the same between all kids, I guess. But I'm sure Porter would love to get a nibble of real food right now as he stares down every bite we take and reaches for my drinking glass all of the time. I find it hilarious when he watches one of the big kids eating and Porter will open his mouth like a tiny baby bird, as if to say, 'Feed me that food now, dudes.' He might be a big eater when the time comes. I picture two teenage boys eating us out of house and home in our future!





(already a teenager here)


These two!


His diet consists of breast milk and formula still, and Porter is all business when it comes to his bottles. Do not mess around and remove the rubber nipple from his mouth until every ounce is finished, guys. He will make you pay for that nonsense. We'll start with my favorite and preferred method to feed my baby: nursing. Porter will nurse before bedtime and falls asleep while doing so, which I seriously love. Then in the middle of the night, I will nurse him back down once and sometimes twice when he wakes up. I'm sure he would prefer that I make him a fatty bottle at those 3 and 5 am wake ups but nope, sorry buddy. Not usually at least! I am pumping once a day now and sometimes I skip it all together, so my supply is obviously dwindling like crazy now. I only get about 2 ounces when I pump and therefore it's kind of silly to invest the time and effort into setting up the pump, pumping, and washing it all after for just two measly ounces that get mixed into a formula bottle anyway. I've been saying that my goal is to have Porter get breast milk until six months and I suppose as long as he is nursing at night, he could go without the pumped milk during the day. We will see, but my supply is finally taking the hint that this child is rarely nursing. Still so crazy that my baby prefers bottles with a passion!

Don't play, mom.


Don't you dare stop this part of your day, Porter.


Hard to be sad about minimal nursing when he is this happy (and healthy):


As for his bottles, he is like clockwork and will squawk for a bottle every three hours on the dot. He drinks 6 oz at a time, and it usually works out to have a bottle around 7:30, 10:30, 1:30, and 5:00. Then he still gets a dream feed bottle before Nate goes to bed around 10:30. He will nurse to bed before that bottle around 7:00 or 7:30 and then wakes up usually once but sometimes twice a night. I mean, the kid is far from starving and I really do think he is happiest when fed and full. He doesn't spit up a ton, considering how much he will drink, but this month he had a little cold for a few days and was congested and sneezy. He did spit up more when he was so snotty and it seemed like he didn't want to eat as much, either, but luckily that didn't last too long. Porter is fat-n-happy, wearing 9 month outfits and size 3 diapers. He is probably about 16 pounds at this point and has the best rolls. Not as huge as Truman was at this age but not exactly tiny, either.







(oh yes, another first---Thanksgiving! He did great on the day trip to Chicago).


Porter isn't a fantastic napper just yet, but it seems like he is figuring out the concept of sleeping somewhere besides my arms. He wakes for the day around 7ish and needs his first nap by 9:00. That first one is usually a quickie, maybe just 30 minutes or so and sometimes we are out and about in the car or Ergo for this nap. Then he will take a longer nap around 11:00 or so, but usually he wakes up in his crib after 45 minutes and needs to be rocked back down. I will do this a few times during his nap which is not ideal but whatever, I guess, and I'll give up after 1:00 and will let him wake up for good. Then he needs another power nap in the evenings, usually around 4:00 or 4:30. Again, this one might be in the Ergo as I prepare dinner but sometimes he will allow a short crib nap at this time. So all in all, naps are fine but not awesome---would really love it if Porter could sleep for longer than 45 minutes without being snuggled/rocked, but I can't complain too much since I love his cuddles;)







Reading back over Truman's five month post and also Cecelia's, I learned a few things: I should probably pull out the exersaucer, my kids are never big rollers at this age, and Porter miiiiiiiiight be a better sleeper than his siblings were at this age. Way to go buddy!! He is also the only one getting formula and refusing to nurse so I definitely feel like he owes me FANTASTIC sleep in return. We're getting there and with his extreme happiness, I know we have it pretty freaking good over here with this babe. Also, I think all three babies look really similar but are also their own little people. And they are all disgustingly cute at five months. I still catch myself calling Porter 'Truman' because their big bald heads are twin features.









But I don't know, I see a bit of CC in Porter, too.


And seriously, Porter loves his older siblings so much already and will smile at them as soon as he notices they are in the room. The feeling is mutual because both Truman and Cecelia love to be all up in Porter's biz. These outtakes from my five month photoshoot say it all. Both of the bigs demanded to be in the pictures and we got some great 'real life' shots.









Yes, they love him so much we had to continue the sibling shots in our bed.






Porter, you are simply awesome and we love watching you grow. Keep on being your happy self, buddy. Love you so much.

Mommy