Vaughnisms *5 Months Old*

It's time to revisit all of our baby boy's "Vaughnisms". It's amazing to look back at the last Vaughnisms post to see how many things have changed and more suprisingly, all the things that are still very similar. Every day, Vaughn brings new joy to our lives. How are we so blessed to have such a beautiful healthy baby?

Being Handled

Now, Vaughn doesn't need to be held all time although he does like to be in our arms more than anything else, which I love.

On the Hip: For the most part, Vaughn enjoys to be held on my hip. Even when I get him in the middle of the night (on occasion when he wakes up to eat or to get changed), he likes to go on my hip so he can face out. He'll often wrap both arms around my neck in a little Vaughn hug. It's the best!

Patted: Vaughn still likes to be patted and up on our shoulder when he's tired or fussy. It is a great soothing technique.

Movement: When in the Stroller or car seat, Vaughn likes to be moving most of the time. Often at Stroller Strides, Tina will keep Vaughn moving while we do our exercises during each station. As soon as the Stroller goes into motion, he's a quiet baby. Maybe he's like that since I was always moving so much when he was in my belly.

Strapped In (the Baby Bjorn): When Vaughn gets bored in the Stroller, he just loves to ride in the Baby Bjorn. If he's super tired, I'll have him face in still so that he falls right to sleep. Most times though, he likes to face out to check out the views. He often rides on my chest when we go grocery shopping if he starts to cry in the car seat.

Playtime

At five months, these are the different ways Vaughn plays. He's quite an active little boy:

- Toys: Toys that make noise, squeak, sing, play music, rattle...Vaughn likes lots of toys especially ones that are easy for him to put in his mouth. His favorite toy right now are a little cloth picture book that Grammy got him. He plays with it during most of our Stroller Strides classes. It has plastic teething corners and two pages that crinkle. Vaughn also still loves LuLu, the toy bar on his rocker chair, a singing Baby Einsteins Octopus and a turtle with two teething rings and a rattle ring around his neck (another toy from Grammy).

- Exersaucer: Vaughnn spends about 15-20 minutes once or twice a day in his exersaucer. He is so cute in it! There is a toy on it that has different animal sounds of a lion, cow, cat, dog and duck. It's so cute to see his face when he smacks the buttons. After the sound, a kid voice says the animal name in English then Spanish and lastly, a song plays. Every time he plays in his exersaucer, he finds new toys to play with or new buttons to push. His development is neat to watch.

- Books: We read a book before bedtime and a few during the day. Vaughn really likes looking at books. I think he also likes hearing my voice. I try to make sure I read slow and pause in between sentences. We also spend time talking about the pictures. It amazes me that he has the attention span to sit and read longer books.


- Faces: Daddy's face is more appealing to Vaughn than mine. But we often put our faces very close to Vaughn so he can examine our eyes, noses, cheeks and mouths. He often grabs Dave's lips and will just stare at my face.

- Tongue and toes: Vaughn has recently found his feet and discovered he has a tongue that he can stick out. If all else fails to keep him occupied, we help him play with his feet. Dave tells him to enjoy the flexibility while he can! 

- Rolling: Vaughn loves to roll forward and backward. He really enjoys to hang out on the floor. It amazes me how much he enjoys tummy time when he used to hate it.

- Changing Table: "Put the Octopus on his face!" Out of context, that statement sounds hiliarious and even in context, it's kind of funny. When we change Vaughn, he doesn't always love the changing table anymore unless the Octopus is on his face. The underside of the Octo's tentacles are silky and different colors so Vaughn will take a tentacle and suck on it. It totally keeps him occupied while we do our business with his business. haha!

- Friends: Just this past week, Vaughn has started to acknowledge other babies. He likes to rub them. After typing that, I realized that doesn't sound quite right but that is sort of what he does. He'll touch an arm or back and give them a little friendly rub. The babies he has really taken to are Piper, Ryder and Jayce. He's quite the social bee! *And apparently, after uploading the pictures, Vaughn likes to be on the right side of his friends.

Crying

Vaughn doesn't cry nearly as much as he used to. He does still cry to let us know when he's sleepy, bored, uncomfortable, hurt or hungry. His cries sound similar to when he was two months old, they just don't last as long and aren't as often. Every time he does cry, though, I just want to hold him close.

Eating

There is one thing Vaughn likes to do and that is EAT! He enjoys nursing, drinking from a bottle, and even eating from a spoon. His appetite is quite large for how teeny he is. Since he wasn't gaining weight (he was at 10 1/2 pounds for over 3 weeks), we started to supplement with formula so he gets about 8-10 oz. or formula a day, 5-6 breastfeeding sessions and now two solid feedings a day. He's slowly turning into a chubby little guy!

Sleeping

We have a sleeper on our hands! Vaughn has a great schedule. He goes to sleep between 7 and 8pm, wakes between 6 and 7am, gets a clean diaper, eats, then sleeps until 7:30am or 8:30am. Then he sleeps on our way to Stroller Strides or Library (our morning activities) and on the way home, then he takes a nap from 11:30am - 2 or 3pm. Depending on how long he sleeps for his first nap, he'll take a second nap if it isn't too late. We are very thankful to have a baby who sleeps so well. I'm able to get the sleep I need and I can get things done around the house.

Nicknames
He hasn't really obtained any additional nicknames except for....drumroll, please....BUBBA-DUBBA-DING-DONG. I know, it's a long one, but Dave often calls him that. I've even found myself calling Vaughn by that name a few times.

Activities

We have a very predictable schedule. Vaughn is a very observant baby who likes to be out and about. These are some of the "out of the house" activities we like to do:

- Stroller Strides: Vaughn and I typically go to Stroller Strides five to six times a week! It's a great workout, great socialization for me and the baby, and it provides many fun activities like moms night out. If I wouldn't have found Stroller Strides, I honestly don't think I'd be able to be a Stay-at-Home mom. I'm just having some problems with my knees and shoulders, so hopefully I'll be able to keep it up as I get stronger.

- Baby Story Time: We go to two different libraries each week. If we decide not to go to Stroller Strides on Mondays, we go to a third library on Mondays. Vaughn enjoys being out. He's a very curious baby. The two different Story Times we go to are very different from each other, but both provide stimulation and great learning.

- Playgrounds: Slowly, but surely, Vaughn has started to like the playground. It is the perfect time of year to play outside. He finds it fun to slide down the slide while I hold him and he likes to swing on my lap. Again, anything we can do to be out of the house, Vaughn enjoys. 

- Church: Every Sunday, we go to church. Dave isn't quite ready to take Vaughn to Baby Rays, so we all have service together in the Family room which can be challenging at times because of the noise. Vaughn doesn't seem to mind though while he sits on our laps and watches Pastor Lee on the big screen (or he sleeps!).