5 Months

Miles will be 5 months old tomorrow.  We're calling it "Cinco de Milo" and we plan to celebrate with a Seahawks win. :)  In one month this boy will be a half year old.

This has been a big week in our house.  2013 is here (we all slept through the midnight celebration) and  I went back to work on Thursday.  The plan is for Miles to spend Mondays and Wednesdays with a nanny at our friends' house (they have a one and a half year old girl) and Tuesdays and Thursdays at our house with a different nanny.  We feel so lucky to have two very loving and capable women taking care of our baby, but of course it's not easy for us to leave him.

Thursday was the first time I had been away from Miles for a whole day.  I spent hours putting together what felt like sub plans for my baby: his general routine, nap routine, eating routine, emergency info, a chart to keep track of it all...  I had to keep pushing back the thought that I'm going back to work for very little (once you subtract childcare) and that even I am just learning how to make Miles's day run smoothly.  It helped that I felt the love and support of friends who sent texts, emails and prayers.  Many of them know exactly how it feels.

And it is also comforting to know that millions of women have done this before and their babies have turned out just fine.  My mom always tells the story of the day she dropped us off at daycare and cried the whole drive to work.  I didn't cry on Thursday morning, but my heart did ache.  Of course my heart almost burst again when I got to hold my little guy at the end of the day, and he smiled so sweetly up at me.  For the rest of the year I get to stay home on Fridays, and I have to admit, I found myself smiling even while changing diapers and cleaning up spit up that day.  It isn't easy, but it's a blessing to be home with my son.

In other news, Miles's stitches are healing really well, and his zig zag scar is starting to take shape.  There is still a little bump of skin at the top of his neck, but the doctor believes this will stretch out as he grows.  While I can't say Miles is "filling out" and turning into a chunky baby, he certainly looks older to me.  He is making many facial expressions, trying out different smiles, and ever so slowly growing in some very blonde hair.

Miles has been spending some quality time with his dad, and I think these two are pretty attached.  Most mornings Steve gets up with Miles and takes him downstairs where, according to him, they complete the following routine: Steve brushes his teeth, they do a weather report ("dark and rainy" or "dark and cold"), a tree lighting "ceremony" (during the holidays), read a few books, play with a toy or two, and finally guitar lessons, during which Steve lays the guitar down and lets Miles pluck the strings.  They've been taking lots of walks in the baby carrier, and even tried out the jogging stroller on a few runs.

This time is really helpful for me too, as we are still struggling with a consistent sleep schedule over here.  On weekends I get to use this time to sneak in a little more sleep.  I'm hopeful that now that Miles is 5 months old, his sleep rhythms will become a bit more regular, and he'll start to learn from the training we've been trying to implement pretty consistently.  I almost hate to jinx it, but Miles has taken a full hour and a half nap 3 days in a row...maybe we're on our way.

And of course we took another photo on the couch to commemorate the 5 month mark.  Here's an outtake from our little shoot and the winning photo below. :)