Baby Miller - Five Months

Birth: 6lbs 8oz, 19 3/4 in long

1 Month: 8lbs 10oz, 21 in long

2 Months: 10lbs 12oz, 23 in long

3 Months: 11lbs 10oz, 23.75 in long

4 Months: 12lbs 7oz, 25 in long

5 Months: 13lbs 12oz, 25.5 in long

those blue eyes...

CLOTHES & DIAPERS

• He's in some 3-6mo clothes but mostly 6 months now.
• We took disposables again to the beach, and so he's about 50/50 right now. Okay, 75/25. :) (size 2 disposables)

EATING

• Okay I feel like this all deserves it's own post, but for now, I will just say it here. Miller is 100% on formula now. After a loooong and exhausting 2 weeks of finding out Miller was underweight and then him throwing up a bunch, we made the executive decision to put him exclusively on Nutramigen (dairy and soy free formula).
• He's been doing really well on it, eating about every 2 hours - doctor's orders. He takes about 4 ounces every two hours, which ends up being somewhere between 24-30 ounces a day. 
• He's still getting Axid twice a day for reflux.
• So the fun part of this 100% formula news is that I get to eat whatever I want!! I was dairy free for almost 3 months, and it really wasn't TERRIBLE, just something I had to think about a lot. Well, when we took Miller to the doctor before we started formula, the doctor we went to (and then our doctor too) said that they wanted me to eliminate soy too... This was like 2 days before we went to Destin and it's hard enough to eat allergy free at chain restaurants where their menus are posted online, but to go to non-chain restaurants and try to eat dairy and soy free? I would have been a stress ball. And guess what? I was already losing my mind... so we switched to formula.
• I think I'll write one more bullet point about all of this. It was such an incredibly hard decision for me to make. I cried a LOT about it. I stressed a LOT about it. I had an actual anxiety attack in the midst of it all. Since I started bottle feeding him (I am 99% sure it was an overactive supply issue that was causing him to throw up, not what he was being fed; since I had started feeding him on demand, I think it threw my supply out of whack); anyway, since I started bottle feeding him, I have been so much less stressed. I know he's eating, I know how much he's eating, and I'm able to eat without thinking about it. It has been nice. But still bittersweet. I love nursing. I never anticipated to be done at 5 months. But this is what's best for us, and I'm glad God gave me the strength to make this decision.

SLEEPING

• Miller has been doing pretty good at night! On our vacation, he usually only woke up once around 2am or so, but then the little stinker would be awake for the day at like 6am. Since we've been home, he's slept about 5-6 hour stretches at the beginning of the night and then 3-4hrs after that. Can't complain! (even though I totally do...)
• He still sleeps in the Nap Nanny (swaddled) at night, and either sleeps in the carseat (on the go) or in his crib (at home) for naps. I think keeping him unswaddled during the day and then swaddling him at night, helps him recognize more that it's nighttime. 

AND...

• He's constantly smiling and laughing now! Daddy loves to kiss on his neck and make him laugh like crazy!
• He's been rolling over from his belly to his back, and loving tummy time! He's always moved around somewhere else if I leave the room and come back.

Here's a video of Miller for his five month mirthday:

Here's a side-by-side of my boys at five months:

Big Brother Jack at 5 months

Vacation to Destin, FL

Last week we went on vacation with the Guin clan to Destin! Jason, me, and the boys drove halfway down a night early to Montgomery so we wouldn't have to make the whole trek in one day. Jason said we HAD to stop at the Peach Park on our way!

Mmmmm... fried peach pie. 

A little roughhousing before bed. 

Country Folks restaurant where we stopped after driving for over an hour with NO FOOD CHOICES in sight. I was like YES PLEASE, ANYWHERE! Let's eat!!

We watched Monsters, Toy Story 2, Nemo, and Winnie the Pooh over the course of our car riding time (there and back)

We decided to stay in on our first night and just order pizza and relax. Which was good because I was POOPED! Then Miller Man decided it would be fun to get up at 6:30am on Sunday morning so we made the best of it and went out on the balcony to hang out. 

That night we went to AJ's with all the Guins.

Sam & V, Nick, Mom & Dad (Mimi & Poppy, that is), Jason, Jack and Miller. This was my attempt to get the whole table, which didn't end up including Vanessa. So I tried to do a panoramic shot, and...

...Panoramics aren't great for people's faces - check out Nick!!! Ahh!!

We got a fun family picture and I didn't even realize Jason was holding Miller over one of the holes until afterwards! Too funny!!

feeding the fish

Jason's expert parking skills

It was SUPPOSED to rain all week, but thank goodness we had really good weather! 

Hanging out on the beach!

My Miller Man!!

Sweet Jack giving Mommy an "mmm-mah" 

Our little set up.

Right before the trip, we were having all kinds of issues with Miller's tummy (I'll explain more in his 5 month post), so we decided to put him on formula for the whole vacation. Luckily he takes a bottle well and this night at dinner, he decided he was a big boy and would hold it himself!! :)

Speaking of that night (Monday)... we're happily eating our dinner at Dewey Destin, minding our own business, when it starts thundering off in the distance. It gets closer, closer, closer and then we're like "Oh my word - it's gonna open UP on us!" We were sitting on the patio, pretty much in the direct path of the brewing storm, but luckily they got us an inside table and we were able to RUN inside (literally) with all our food before we got drenched. Whew. That was cah-razy.

Tuesday we went outlet shopping while the boys played golf. 

We love Buh-nessa!!

That night we went to Captain Daves for dinner and Nick tried crab legs for the first time. Jason is quite the crab legs expert so Nick got to learn from the master.

Sweet Aunt & Uncle

Wednesday morning, Jason, Nick, and the boys and I went to the Donut Hole for breakfast. This spread doesn't even include Jason's food, because he inhales his meals. It was REALLY yummy!!

Another day at the beach, despite his face - he enjoyed it!

Beach family!!

Sitting in the inflatable Jake pool!

Wednesday night we went over to the Baytowne Wharf to walk around and eat dinner at the Acme Oyster House. Dude - BEST meal we had! It was sooooo good!! 

Nick did a chipping contest to win a boat, and came REALLY close! We were proud of him.

It was also Mom and Dad's anniversary!! 31 years!

On the balcony Thursday morning before we left our condo.

overlooking the pool

panoramic (which I'm still no good at)

The Guin's left on Thursday to head home and we decided to stay another night in Destin. We went back down to the area near AJ's and walked around. Jack was desperate to go on the choo-choo train and who are we to deny him such a treat?!

That face. I die.

Here's a video of the train:

Then we went on a dolphin cruise! It was fun and we saw lots of dolphins, but oh my goodness... we would not go on this boat again. It was completely open, as in NO SHADE. So we slathered the boys in sunscreen, and I did my best to shield my sleeping Miller.

...and I got burned. Ugh.

Here's a video of the cruise:

Thursday night we went back to the Baytowne Wharf and walked on the pier that we didn't know you could get to the first night!

...and we ate at the Acme Oyster House again! Yum!! (And we were served by a Taylor Swift lookalike! No joke!!)

silly boy sitting in the window at our hotel

being a helpful big brother on the way home - "I wanna hold it!"

"Brother - be quiet and quit kicking my chair. I'm trying to sleep."

Another fabulous vacation for the summer of 2013!!