CJ at 5 months: The Saga Continues...

Whew. Not gonna mince words here - it's been a rough month. In my last update, I mentioned how CJ hadn't really gained weight from months 3 to 4. Well, this not-so-awesome trend continued and shortly thereafter he'd dipped down to the 3rd percentile and our family doctor slapped him with "Failure to Thrive". What an ugly label. :( I prefer simply "failure to gain weight" (which some docs use) as, to me, FTT implies that a baby's not doing well in general. We don't feel this is the case with CJ, as aside from his weight gain issues (and some reflux) he has continued to be super-social, happy, energetic and developmentally on track. But evidently at a certain point, lack of weight gain can negatively affect other areas, which is why it should be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. As such, he has seen a lot of professionals over the last month - family doc (a few visits), pediatrician, naturopath, dietician and chiropractor (for a food sensitivity and internal malady assessment). I've had some appointments of my own as I haven't been feeling up-to-snuff myself. I may end up blogging in depth on some of this as we've had some interesting and enlightening experiences, but in the meantime I'll relay our current plan of action:

• Dramatically increase my fat intake in order to fortify my milk
• Avoid wheat, strawberries, d-drops and my previous multivitamin (chiro detected a sensitivity in CJ to these).
• Rid CJ of the parasite he's evidently been carrying (again, discovered by the chiro); we've given him some homeopathics and will see if they were effective during our next visit.
• Stress less and get more R&R (this is proving to be challenging!)
• Try to get him to nap better/longer, for crying out loud. (Literally.) He needs this so his metabolism isn't going all day (and, well, he's a baby) and I need it to stay sane. We managed a few good 2 hr crib sleeps last week but seems he's back to cat napping and a pronounced aversion to the crib. It's ironic - the goal of all these appointments is to help him get on track, but all this hopping around has gotten in the way of figuring out a good schedule for him.

Alright, time to look at the lighter side of Month 5!


Official 5 Month Photo:

(Note: please disregard the unfortunate (in hindsight) choice of onesie!)

(Compare with months 1, 2, 3 and 4.)


Physical Development:  

Weight: 12 lb 11 oz (3rd percentile)
Height: 26 " (about 50th percentile)

The dietician said that as long as his height's staying on the curve, he has a chance to catch up weight-wise. But if the height starts dropping off this could affect him long term. So well keep working on that!

This month he figured out the front-to-back roll, so now he's got both directions in his arsenal. He has become a pro at tummy time too. Look at the strength he's mustering in those little arms!



S likes to do tummy time with him too. :)

We also busted out the Rainforest Jumperoo this month, and he doesn't mind it one bit!



In terms of fine motor control, his favourite new moves this month are the Nose Pinch and Iron Fist Hair Grab. Gotta love those! He's also beginning to hold on when we carry him around, which is sweet. <3 Speaking of carrying, I'm loving the kangaroo hold in our Maya Warp ring sling. It allows me to get some stuff done while he's with me (a necessity since his naps are still so spotty), and he's facing outward so he gets to check out all the action! (Side note - will be posting a R&G on the Maya Wrap shortly, so stay tuned!)


Cognitive, Social & Emotional Development:

CJ continues to be a "people baby", flashing that big, charming smile of his at anyone who looks his way! He's still enjoying book time, though I'd say he isn't quite as uber-fascinated as he was the previous month. Near the end of the month he started playing around with some new vocalizations - mainly a "dadadada" sound. It's adorable - will need to shoot a vid for the next update!


Sleep:

Yeah. I already touched on this above, so let's just say night sleep = good; day sleep = sketchy at best. Working on it. (Yawn - just writing about this is making me tired!!)



Let's end with some fun pics!

Here's C with his little friend R - a day younger but several pounds his "senior"!

"Princess CJ" - no so impressed with this situation!

Finally, a lovely pic with his Granda and Aunt B! <3

Wish us luck for smoother sailing during Month 6!!!!