Evan Thomas 5 Month Report

I'm finally getting around to posting Evan's 5 month update. I took these two shots of him this a.m. and I just think they capture him so well. Check out those TWO teeth already!! He's only 5 months and already 2 choppers. Not bad! His first tooth arrived on Daddy's birthday (June 10th) and his 2nd on his big sister's birthday (June 19th). How is that for easy to remember days! Evan was no easy teether. A REAL fussy guy when it comes to teeth. I think some babies are just easier with teeth than others. Evan is NOT liking the pain one bit.. Thankfully we have the 2 out and have a little break for a bit. I'm not looking forward to his next set.

Evan is still the light of my life at the moment, albeit a bit on the fussy side! I'm enjoying him very much, but also feeling a bit tied down as he is constantly wanting to be held right now. It is really bittersweet. If I could only savor his babyness with out the million things I have to do! He is being ever so demanding right now and seems to NEVER want to be put down. If I'm lucky I can get him to take at least one long nap, during which time I can at least get a few things done...but it hasn't been easy. Now that the kids are on summer vacation I am BUSIER than I was when they were in school and the poor little guy just want to be held and talked to CONSTANTLY. Krista has a full load of activities this week, but then it will settle down a bit before our trip. We are really looking forward to our trip to the US. I can't wait to show off our little man!

Okay back to the report. As of today (5 months, 3 weeks) Evan weighs 8,960 grams! YES, that is nearly 9 kg! He is just a few ounces away from weighing 20 pounds. He is certainly a nice sized baby and all that is from breastfeeding alone. Every time I see those chubby thighs I think to myself that is purely from my milk alone, that is truly amazing! At his well baby visit this month the doc said that we could start solids when he turns 6 months.. So, we'll give it a go on our trip which will be fun. I can't wait to see his reaction, but I just know that he is ready. Heck I think he's even ready for self feeding with those two teeth. He has excellent hand/eye coordination and can easily transfer objects from one hand to the other and into his mouth. He eyes us like a hawk when we are eating and even imatates mouth chewing. He is definately ready! I will still wait though until the trip because I don't want to mess up his digestive system before the trip and I also think it will be fun to share this big first with my family.

On the sleeping front, Evan went from being an AWESOME 8 or 9 hour sleeper down to 4.5 hour stretches. I think it all happened when Kaitlyn got sick and gave him a runny nose. The heat has been no help either. Not having air-conditioning in Europe really stinks! It was probabally in the high 90's this past week and the house is like an oven! Oh and to add fuel to the fire Krista got sick and he got a runny nose again. Anyway, he is now waking up 2 times a night so I'm pretty tired, but still managing. He seems to enjoy nursing at night now when it is quiet and there are no distractions. I remember this with the other kids also. They prefered the uninterupted nursing sessions at night when they had my full attention. So be it. He will only be little once! I'll indulge him as much as I can :) As for amount of time nursing, he nurses about 6 or even 7 times a day. His nursing sessions in the day are short (about 10 minutes) but at night are usually 20-25 minutes.

This month he moved out of his bassinet and into his crib. I caved in and decided to put the crib in our room since he started waking up more this month. It is just so much easier on me and the older kids aren't disturbed by his crying.

I also introduced the excersaucer this month and the little guy just LOVES it! He can stand up, turn and grab at toys to his heart's content. It is great for when I need to cook or fold laundry.

So that is Evan at the moment. A big month for him moving out of the bassinet, finishing up his shots *until 1 year, getting 2 teeth, playing in the exersaucer etc. He's a real cutie!! Such a little joy. I'll post a video from yesterday of him belly laughing. Just a riot!