Leo is down for a nap so it’s time to write about life with a baby: 5-month old update! It has been a crazy month full of firsts and trying to balance work and motherhood life.
Can you believe your baby is 5-months old?! Time really flies by! I was looking at pictures of Leo when he was just a month old and now he’s more than twice the size he was back then. *cue the tears*
Your baby is starting to move around by now rolling all over the place or swaying side to side on their tummy to accomplish this milestone! His brain is a little sponge and it’s absorbing everything. His motor skills are getting better and every week feels like he’s accomplishing something new.
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5 Months old
Expecting milestones
- Starts to show interest in shapes, complex patterns, and even certain colors.
- Able to pass a toy/object from one hand to the other.
- Recognizes his name and turns towards it when being called.
- Might start to show interest in what you’re eating.
- Can raise his head and chest more when laying on his tummy.
- Sit up with assistance and/or without assistance for a short time.
- Might start “Army” crawling or show signs of crawling .
- Can differentiate colors
- Starts to push up on his arms and begins to pivot around.
Sleeping Schedule
During this month he still needs about 12-16 hours of sleep a day! 3 to 4 hours during the day split over 3 to 4 naps and if you’re lucky, he will be sleeping through the night at this point waking up only once to feed but falling right back to sleep.
7 AM – Wake up & feed
8:30-9 AM– 1st nap
10-10:30 AM – Wake up & play
11:30-12 AM – 2nd nap
2-2:30 PM – Wake up & play
4-4:30 PM – Cat nap (~30-40 mins)
5:30 PM – Wake up
7 PM – Wind down for bedtime
7:30-8 PM – Asleep
Remember that not all babies are the same! Leo’s first nap was usually the shortest and sometimes he would not want to take that third nap. He was always such a sleep warrior that the only way he would take a quick cat nap was as a contact nap.
I was also not one of the lucky parents whose baby slept through the entire night. Leo would wake up 2 to 3 times at night, even 4 times when he was sick! but he would go right back to sleep after I’d feed him or my husband rocked him back to sleep. I played around with feedings during the day so he’d get more calories during the day but Leo would still wake up at least 2 times throughout the night. Following this schedule led to him waking up less so we followed it the best we could.
Activities you can do with your 5-month old baby!
- More tummy time!
- Call out the names of things and have him touch them when you guys go on walks or even at home.
- Grab two different color balls. Hold one in front of his face while the other ball is out of sight and say the color (“blue!”). Do the same with the second ball (“Red!”) and then bring both balls out and ask which ball is “blue.” If he touches the blue ball praise in excitement. If he touches the wrong ball just say “That’s the red ball.”
- If he doesn’t reach for the ball but looks at the right ball, praise them with excitement when they look at the right ball.
- Encourage “Army” crawling:
- Place an object they love a couple of feet in front of him while he is on his tummy and push one leg up gently bending his knee outward with the palm of your hand.
- Keep your hand on his foot so he can apply pressure when he’s ready and push himself forward.
- Do the same on the other leg.
- Encourage sitting:
- Place toys within his reach when he’s in the sitting position.
- Use a soccer ball or a soft ball big enough so your baby can hug and play with while he’s sitting.
- Place him in his play mat baby gym when he’s in the sitting so he can play with the toys hanging from his play mat.
- Play “Peek-a-boo”
- Play different types of music and dance with him.
- Continue talking and reading to him!
- Take him to the play ground to observe how other kids play and interact together.
Items we love:
- If you haven’t already gotten a playpen, this is the time to do it!
- I have this wooden playpen in my house in the largest size and a soft waterproof double sided mat that is super easy to clean with a cute interactive road map in the back.
- I have this wooden playpen in my house in the largest size and a soft waterproof double sided mat that is super easy to clean with a cute interactive road map in the back.
- To encourage sitting I used:
- An activity table Leo fell in love with, but you can also use an activity triangle or cube.
- Soccer ball or a soft beach ball
- Since he liked the real soccer ball, I got him a soft soccer ball that lights up with movement and has little crinkly tabs for more sensory play and I rotate this and the real soccer ball.
- His favorite play mat gym.
- Bright colored books.
- Leo loves this mesmerizing book & this book about colors.
- Best interactive books.
- Since Leo loves to play “Peek-a-boo,” I got him this “Peek-a-boo” book.
- This book with interactive tabs keeps his little hands busy.
- Textured balls
- Textured books.
- Leo interacts with this textured book the most.
Remember that each child develops at their own pace. If your little one is not ready or they are just not interested in the activities, try again another time. The key is to expose them to different kinds of play to help them develop mentally and physically at their own pace.
Leo's journey at 5 months old
Leo was unstoppable at this age! At the beginning of this month he was rolling all over the place trying to grab anything and everything that was around him. If he wanted an object he would roll towards it the best he could to get that object and put it in his mouth.
Leo mastered sitting unassisted!
When he was taking a break from rolling around, he’d be sitting playing with his activity table or holding on his soccer ball. All those little sitting exercises we did when he was 4 months old paid off because I was amazed at how quickly he was able stay in a sitting position with little or no assistance at all when he was playing with his activity table or trying to unhook the toys hanging from his play gym.
Leo would push up on his arms and begin pivoting around until he saw something that attracted his attention and would start doing this “superman” swimming motion until he’d get frustrated and he’d start crying so I decided it was time to practice “army” crawling. By mid November we realized we needed to baby proof the house ASAP because Leo decided it was time to stop rolling all over the place and start “army” crawling.
Leo started “Army” crawling!
Leo went 4 months without getting sick but this month Leo experienced his first viruses and it was a little rough start to our winter. He had pretty drastic changes to his routine. Even though I went back to work last month, this month I had a late shift and I was home by almost midnight which meant I was no longer putting Leo to bed like I did the first 4 months. My baby boy also got sick three different times this month!
The first time he got sick he almost lost his voice completely. He was so stuffed up and coughing so much that it was hard for him to sleep. I remember he used to wake up multiple times in the middle of the night screaming in frustration because he was so tired and his congested nose was not helping him. Despite the big changes and unwanted meetings with these viruses, Leo was always smiling and making the most of his days by practicing his new tricks.
If you have a little one at home I recommend you read about what to do when your baby gets sick to ease his symptoms before he actually gets sick so you can be prepared and have everything ready for him for when it actually happens and make sure educate yourself on what signs to look out for in case you need to bring your little one to the ER.
“So thankful for having him in my life!”
Leo celebrated Thanksgiving by attending two Thanksgiving dinners this month! Since I was working the late shift and I was not about to miss my baby’s first Thanksgiving M and I decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving day. Unfortunately he was unable to try all the delicious food but you could tell he was eager to taste what we were eating because he would stare at our food as we scooped it from the plate to our mouths and he would even open his little mouth in hopes we would give him some.
Leo started solids!
Leo started showing us that he was ready for us to start introducing solids a week after he started sitting unassisted but I was not ready. I was still deciding if Baby Led Weaning (BLW) or if purees were going to be our approach to introducing solids to Leo. After days of research I decided to do a mixture of both BLW and purees and a week before Leo turned 6 months he had his first solid foods! I gave him avocado wedges and my hubby gave him a couple spoonfuls of banana puree.
November was definitely a month full of firsts and milestones for Leo. I got to see a little bit more of how he manages his frustration. He showed me how determined he is when he wants something and doesn’t easily give up. I’m so proud of my little boy.