5 months old

In the blink of an eye, Elliot is 5 months old! It seems like just yesterday we were preparing for him to arrive and yet those early weeks with a very colicky newborn seem like a lifetime ago. Life with 2 kids is hilarious, overwhelming, hectic, and wonderful all at the same time. The moments when Elliot is giggling at Gabriella are simply the best and the moments when both are crying and whining, toys are everywhere, and the laundry pile is neverending, certainly make us feel like we have a dozen kids instead of 2 (seriously though, how can 2 small kids be so noisy???). Gabriella has become quite the little lady and most days we are biting the inside of our cheeks while attempting to discipline her to avoid laughing. It's a crazy circus but I wouldn't trade these monkeys for anything!

Elliot was incredibly colicky in the beginning. For the first 8 weeks, he would cry and was unconsolable from around 6pm until sometimes 1am. It was rough. Many a night were spent walking up and down the road with him. It all came to a head around 8 weeks when he had some serious GI issues and was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy. I have had to eliminate all sources of milk protein in my diet and that changed everything. The colic ended and he is now a happy little boy. His personality is just as big as his sisters; he is as happy as can be until he's not.... then watch out, he'll make it known that he needs some attention.

He is a great sleeper. He sleeps through the night about half the time and the other nights he only wakes up once and usually goes back to sleep very quickly.  His napping is getting better each week and he currently takes his best nap in the morning and then takes 2-3 shorter cat naps in the afternoons.

We've started foods with him recently and so far he's had cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. He loved them all although definitely liked the sweet potatoes over the banana. With Gabriella, we had to introduce cereal and foods for the calories. She was so small that she just couldn't get enough calories from breastmilk or formula alone. With Elliot, our pediatrician suggested starting cereal at 5 months not for the calories but simply because his appetite was huge and between bottles and nursing he was taking in almost 40 ounces a day! What a difference having a baby in the 90th percentile is compared to barely being on the growth charts!

Through all the rough days and despite the new gray hairs that come with having two kids, I can't believe that they are mine. A few short years ago this little family was one I could only dream of. So I'll take my almost three year old saying, "Mommy your belly is squishy like your boobies" (thanks kid, your day will come), and I'll take what seems like a constant flow of spit-up on my shoulder. These crazies have my heart.