5 Months + Helmet Update

Growth

• Clothing: 3 month & 3-6
• Diaper size: 2
• Rolled from front to back
• Wears a DOCband

Likes

• Standing
• Looking in the mirror
• New toys
• Being independent (kinda)
• Rolling

Dislikes

• Sitting or laying
• Tummy time (hence the rolling)
• Being in the car too long

General

Brooks is adjusting to his band very well for the most part. He has been pretty fussy and clingy the last few days but I don't think that's caused by the band. He must be teething, growing or something! He doesn't even seem to notice the band. I've been out and about with him quite a bit and I haven't noticed any rude looks or stares. Then again I'm not looking to see if people are staring at my baby because frankly I don't care! I've had a couple nice people ask me what it was for which was super polite.

He's staring to have a little bit of anxiety for 'strangers' Dan's mom Sylvia was visiting and Brooks started whimpering when she held him. Then after 30 minutes she had him giggling and laughing so it didn't take long.

Breastfeeding

Still loves eating but is becoming more easily distracted. Now that he's older he can see more, wants to look around and keeping him focused on eating has become a challenge. TV/music/movie off and sometimes the lights off too.

He now goes every 3ish hours during the day and anywhere from 4-9 at night. I pumped some milk so I could go to the temple. Dan didn't want to fight him with a bottle so he went straight for a cup and had success! Of course it was messy and Brooks wasn't a pro at it but at least he was fed.

Sleeping

We went through a small sleep regression which is typical around 4-5 months. I've heard stories of wake ups every hour so I was grateful when ours wasn't that bad. More often than not he ends up in the rock n play. He just wants to feel snuggled. 

I stopped swaddling him for safety reasons (he can roll) and was using the Love to Dream Swaddle UP but sometimes he would seem uncomfortable. We tried to train him to sleep with his arms out. Kept at it for a couple of nights and he wasn't having it. I bought a ZipadeeZip and I love it! It's big enough to let him move and roll around, but still small enough where he can feel slightly snuggled. I love that it gives him motion of his arms and hands but his claws hands are still covered.

Naps are still pretty routine- short nap, long nap, short nap, cat nap. And there are some days when he cat naps all day long. Just kind of roll with the punches!

Plagiocephaly

We had two appointments, one for the digital scan and one for the helmet fitting. In my mind the helmet fitting was the big one and thought the scan would be easy. I was wrong. I thought it would be easy based on the first scan he got, he did great! Well that was more casual and laid back because it was just to look at, not to make a helmet. This second scan had to be more precise and perfect. The stocking couldn't have a hole for his face for this one but that didn't really bother him. He didn't want to be sitting, arms held in, holding still and looking one direction.

He's pretty strong and at one point we had four doctors in there trying to keep him still. We had to do it twice and finally got a good enough picture to make his helmet. Thinking back to his drooly, sad face with a stocking over it breaks my heart! It was probably just overwhelming for him- people, lights, trying to get his attention, holding him, poking him. On the car ride home he took a good nap, which he deserved,he was worn out.

Getting the helmet was a much better appointment. We tried it on, made some adjustments, she showed me how to take it on, off, where it should be on his head and how to clean it. Then we let him wear it for 10 minutes to see how his skin would react. While we were doing all this, Brooks didn't notice the helmet on his head, he was just bored and wanted to play! For the first two days we did a 3 hour rotation to get his skin and used to it. He'd wear it for 3-4 hours then I'd take the helmet off until the redness disappeared. It seemed like he didn't even notice the helmet at all and the redness went away very quickly.

The helmet does wiggle around until he grows a bit more so I'm constantly adjusting it to make sure it's comfortable for him. The one thing I don't love about the helmet is the velcro- snags on everything! There are better velcros to use out there. Oh and one note about the velcro on the helmet- for those of you wondering it's not strapped on or tightened onto his head. The band itself has tension built in. I put the velcro through the loop and just tap it in place to keep it on, it doesn't add any pressure to his head. I knew it eventually would start to smell, but I was surprised when it stank after his first full day in it! I clean it everyday but we're just going to have to embrace the stink!