Gerber baby!

I was at a graduation open house yesterday and started talking to my third cousin, whom I only see every few years. We have a lot in common... we both live and work in the same town, we're the same age, we both got married last year, and now she's pregnant with her first child, a girl, due in August. As I stood there talking with her about "mommyhood", I was struck with the reality of how far Bill and I have come as parents. I'm pretty sure I overwhelmed my cousin with all of the talk of things we went through, or what she could expect... but as I was talking, I was smiling on the inside... because things change so quickly. 

Now we have an almost 5 month old. Gone are the days of surviving on 2 hours of sleep (and feeling like a million bucks after 3 straight hours of sleep). Little Drew has been consistently sleeping through the night for 2 months now (8-11 hour stretches). He's taking 2-3 regular naps during the day now (1-2+ hours), and it seems like we're finally getting on a schedule with his sleeping and eating. I always wondered how you put a baby on a schedule, but with Drew, it's all come naturally.

Such a happy baby after a long night's sleep!

Gone are the days of feeling like you're talking to a little being with no response in return. I love that Drew's personality is out in full swing now. He smiles in response to others, babbles and squeals (to himself and others), and can entertain himself for small stretches of time, so mommy can do important business like wash bottles, fold laundry, or cook dinner. He is fascinated with his hands and feet, and will try to grab everything in sight... even noses, cheeks, and the hair of others. He interacts with his toys, playing with his rattle and chiming toys, and he loves music. We'll often hear him on the monitor as he wakes up in the morning... he'll babble a little bit and squeal a good morning greeting to his friends, the animals on the mobile above his head. 

Grabbing his toy with one hand and his foot with the other

Two weeks ago, we took Andrew for his 4 month well visit with the pediatrician. Bill couldn't wait to see how much his "little linebacker" weighed. Much to Daddy's enjoyment, the little guy weighed in at 14 lbs 14 oz, placing him in the 50th percentile. His length was 25.5 inches, placing him in the 75th percentile. His head circumference was 17.5 inches, which (to none of our surprise) was in the 90th percentile (big head like his daddy!). Dr. Fisher said Andrew was doing great and we all laughed at the little guy as he repeatedly kept trying to get mommy's attention, by cooing, squealing, and smiling as I talked to the doctor. Since Andrew has been eating so well (30 ounces of breastmilk/formula daily), he advised us that we could start him on solids as soon as we wanted to. We had tried rice cereal about a week before seeing Dr. Fisher, and Drew did not like it AT ALL... 

Doesn't look too appetizing

Getting ready...

First bite

Not happy... this stuff is disgusting, mommy! 

Needless to say, when Dr. Fisher told us we could start the "good stuff", we were so excited! I couldn't believe that we were already to the point of feeding him "real" food. Dr. Fisher told us to start with Stage 1 foods, just a couple of teaspoons to start getting him used to it. He advised us to start with sweet potatoes, since starting with fruit would make him only want sweet things and starting with the "gross" veggies (in my opinion- peas, etc.) might turn him off to the idea completely. He also told us to try the food too, so we can see what he's tasting. Bill said that was taking it too far, so he has opted out of the trying baby food (at least the gross stuff, like veggies)... so mommy gets to be the guinea pig! So far we've tried sweet potatoes for 5 days (you have to do everything in 5 day increments to make sure there are no food allergies). He LOVES sweet potatoes, often opening his mouth wide as if to say "More, mommy!" I can't get those sweet potatoes in his mouth fast enough! We also tried peas, which he HATES! I tried 2 days, but he was so miserable... crying and turning his head away, that I couldn't force him to eat them... I hate peas too, little guy! :) 

Yummy! Sweet potatoes! 

Not sure yet...

These are pretty tasty!

A success! 

It's so fun seeing the little human being he's becoming. He sits with us in his high chair at dinnertime, watching us eat, waiting for his turn when we're done. I love that he's observing everything we do, and I'm sure he's taking it all in. 

We're also so excited because Drew has finally started rolling over from his tummy to his back. He has been rolling from his back to his side for awhile now, but it has taken him longer to roll completely over from his tummy to back (because of his big head... lol). I was so happy to be able to get a video of his rolling, since it happens so fast! Here is his rolling debut... so cute! 

It is just so fun to see all the new things happening every day with our little guy. I'm so blessed to be a teacher, so that I can have every day this summer with my little man. School is officially over, so let the mommy-baby time begin!

Mid-squeal in his highchair

Learning to sit up in his Bumbo

Chillin' with Daddy in the backyard

Drew and his new jumperoo

Happy Father's Day! 

Visiting mommy in her classroom during the last week of school