It was almost like a lightbulb went on for him at 5 months, and from there everything has gotten so much better. It also took a few tweaks to our life, but it is paying off now and I couldn't be happier about our decisions. I know that sleep training and feeding schedules are sort of controversial these days, but it is what worked for us even though I was really against letting him cry in the beginning. Once he hit 5.5 months, I put Ollie on a feeding schedule and did the dreaded crying at bedtime. Seriously, it was a miracle and I was so skeptical at first. I am glad I waited until this age though because I knew he was healthy, and that he wasn't going to go hungry. It also helped that I could understand his cries and communication with me better than when he was younger. Basically the first night we did it, the crying lasted for 40 minutes on and off and we went in and out a bunch of times, lengthening the time between visits. (He has cried longer than that with someone holding him and trying to comfort him, so even though it was hard, we knew we had to give it a shot.) Amazingly enough, Ollie slept through the night that very night (I of course did not) and he hasn't looked back since (knock on wood). Before this, I would seriously sleep in his room and nurse him to sleep or put him into bed with me when he woke up every 1.5 hours at night. Pete and I were both beginning to lose our sanity, Ollie was cranky a lot, and this up every hour and a half at night coupled with his terrible and nearly non existant naps were wearing me thin physically and emotionally. As good as this change is for Pete and I, the change in Ollie is striking. I know a lot of it is just his age and maturity, but I feel like he is so much happier now that he knows what to expect from his day. The obstacles he does come across aren't as big of a deal for him now that he's well rested too. We are already so so proud of him.
Other breaking news is that he now has 2 teeth coming in. After several months of agony, his first tooth sprouted up on his 5 month birthday and the second one wasn't far behind. It is sort of funny though because he has his left bottom middle and the one next to it to the left, not his other bottom middle tooth. We have ourselves a little jack-o-lantern baby just in time for Halloween.
Oh yes, and he rolls over. Front to back and back to front. Finally. He did them both for the first time within 1 day of each other. I don't know why he was so late to roll from tummy to back, but I think it had something to do with his big head ;) He also finally lets me put him down for short spurts during the day. I can put him in his pack n play, on his play mat or in his chair sometimes for a whopping 10 minutes at a time. He also loves to play with anything that makes a lot of noise, like chip bags (but this is obviously a closely supervised activity).
To sum it up, things have finally gotten easier (just like everyone said they would) and we are trying to squeeze every inch of fun out of this short yet wonderful time in Ollie's life =)
He has his 6 month check up and next round of shots on October 5th and I am so excited to see how much he weighs... I am pretty sure he is hovering around 20 pounds give or take!
