So many changes have taken place in Hayden over the past month. He has made huge strides in head control (proven by his mastery of baby push-ups during tummy time) and is getting better at supporting his torso in preparation for sitting up. He has rolled over unassisted 5 times as of today (he has done it hundreds of times with a little help from mom or dad to keep him feeling confident in his ability to be roley poley).

His acid reflux is totally under control (no issues at all) and he has gotten the hang of this solid food business as of today really. At breakfast this morning he actually opened his mouth waiting for the next bite and kept his hands neatly in his lap while I fed him. Before today (except for the very first time), it was a battle of wills...I would pretty much pry his mouth open and put the bite in and he would put his hands in his mouth and spread the food all over his face and attempt to eat his bib instead. I have noticed that lately he has been watching us eat more and he must have learned something because now it is so much fun to see him eating and enjoying it. He likes his foods separate (rice cereal for one meal, and pears for another...instead of mixed together at each meal).

Some new things that he likes to do now that he is the big 5 months are:

• jumping in his Jumperoo
• playing with his rings attached to his carseat
• feeling mom and dad's face with his hands and put his hands in our mouths
• smiling....a lot (that's not new though, he has always been a very smiley boy)
• playing "machine gun" with dad...between this and rocket ship, we have got the "man play" covered.
• SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! finally....he goes down at 7:30pm or so and then I feed him again at 8:30pm and he is down until 7am (usually)...we are working into having his last feeding be right before putting him down to bed, so somewhere between 7:30-8pm...remember we started working back from 10:30 -11pm (subtracting 15 min each night), so we have made great strides)
• getting distracted while eating...there is so much to see!
• playing with his rubber duckie in the bathtub
• sleeping unswaddled with his puppy blankie

Some things he doesn't like now are:

• taking his liquid vitamins
• staying still for diaper changes
• loud noises
• eating from a bottle (he still won't take one)

We are having so much fun being parents. We marvel at Hayden's achievements and sometimes we still can't believe that he is our son. We love him immensely and he brings so much joy into our lives everyday. He is at such a fun age right now and it is only going to get better I am sure! -- mam