My Silly Boy

A couple days late with the posting, but Matthew is 23 weeks old now! Those pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but that never stopped me before - one is Matthew in his Halloween costume and the other is him eating carrots the other day. He actually likes them, but he's still learning how to keep them in his mouth :o)

Here's what the newsletter says:

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 23 weeks (Approximately 5.4 months) old now.
Your baby is learning to play, and playing to learn. Your baby loves noise at this stage - not just the noises he or she can make themselves, but also the noises he or she can make with objects as he or she learns to manipulate his or her environment. Your baby may shake his or her rattle, and hit it against a hard surface to see if it makes a different sound. He or she will probably be most pleased with the object that produces the loudest noise possible. Just remember, this too shall pass!
Your baby may be finally rolling over from his or her back to his or her tummy. When this new skill is mastered, you may find yourself waking up in the morning to find your baby, who fell asleep on his or her back, sleeping on his or her tummy. Many parents worry about this because of the fear of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Fortunately, experts agree that the risk of SIDS decreases once a baby can roll over because at that point they are better able to protect themselves.
Your baby is probably learning to sit better and longer without your assistance. He or she may sit supported for up to 30 minutes, and unsupported for several moments. He or she may not be able to quite pull themselves into a sitting position, but will be able to support themselves if you seat him or her on the floor. But stay close by. He or she'll be a bit wobbly and may slump forward without warning. The next step: crawling!

Matthew had his first bath in the "big boy tub" last night :o) He has been using one of those little tubs you can buy for babies, but he's really getting too big for it. He seemed to like the big tub - I layed him down and soaped him up, then let him sit up and play for a while. He usually can't sit on his own for more than a few seconds without losing his balance and tipping over, but he's getting there. He also had been sleeping a lot better, but the last 2 days have been rough. For some reason he's decided that he WILL NOT sleep in his crib. We've tried to let him cry it out, but after 30 minutes or so of screaming with no signs of stopping we give in. I have a hard time handling the crying and my husband has a hard time with letting the neighbors suffer (we live in an apartment building). So Matthew has slept in Mommy and Daddy's bed the last couple of nights. This weekend will be fun - last time he pulled this and I got serious about making him sleep in his crib he got up 4 times the first night, 3 times the next and then at least 2 times a night for about a week. He had been down to only getting up once a night (if at all) again before he started being difficult again. Not sure what the problem is, but I'm tired. So poor Matthew might have to do quite a bit of crying Friday night. There's no way I'm going to start tonight...I'm working on 12 hours of sleep in 2 days - maybe a lot or average to some of you but I function best on 8 hours of sleep a night or more. Although 7 would be acceptable. So tonight I will do what I have to do to get some sleep. Oh, and one more thing. Matthew is getting his first haircut on Saturday morning!!! I hate to do it, but the kid looks like a hippy. So hopefully he'll be good and not squirm so much he ends up with a funny haircut :oP