Five Month Update

Dear Tatum,

You turned five months on Easter Sunday and have hit several new milestones this week. You are still getting closer to rolling over, but not there yet. You are using your hands to pick things up and you even reached for the teddy bears that hang from the top of your swing. You surprised us several times today alone with your ability to pick things up. I gave you a teething toy to play with tonight and it was lying on the couch next to us when I noticed that you had picked it up and began playing with it.

You and your cousin Michael have also really begun to notice each other. Michael made a sound while looking at you and then the two of you grabbed hands. It is so cute.

You were a little grumpy tonight and I noticed that you have been sticking your fingers in your mouth on the left side of your mouth quite a bit. So I decided to feel around and it feels as if you are cutting your first tooth. Tomorrow Daddy and I are taking you out for the day. We are going to buy some teething tablets and a few more teething rings.

While I was getting you ready for your bath yesterday, I noticed that you had a couple of red spots on your belly and a few on your back. I was worried and thought we better see the doctor. They got us in right away and diagnosed the spots as hives. The doctor said you must have come in contact with something new… new detergent or a new pet. We are not sure what it could have been since I have not changed your detergent and you have been around the same pets for a while now. They prescribed some ointment and said it was nothing to be concerned with.

While we were at the doctor, that asked to weight you. You gained more than 2 lbs in that past 3 weeks. You weighed 13 pounds and measured 24.25 inches long. You are growing so quickly. I am in the process of washing all of your 3-6 and 6 month clothing now. You are ready for them now. Some are going to be a little big yet, but we will work with what we have.

Your heart monitor has also been very quiet the past couple of weeks. We are so thankful. We will see what the doctor wants to do at your next appointment. The original plan was to monitor you for 6 months and that is only a month away. I think Mommy and Daddy will have some sleepless nights once the heart monitor is gone to say the least. It has been reassuring to know that you are breathing easily when we put you to bed. The worry truly never ends.
This week while we were visiting over at Grandma Vicki’s, you shocked us by reaching out to pet the dogs. You like Tinkerbell more than Gia, and reached for her several times. The dogs are very patient around you allowed you to pet them.

You also have a new cry that Daddy calls your ‘War Cry.’ It is a bizarre type of cry since it is really a combination of a yell and a cry. It is more like you are using your voice and realize how loud you can be. You don’t actually cry at all. It makes us laugh although we are trying to figure out what it means. Although it makes us laugh at home, we are afraid of what it will be like the first time you display it in public. Eeh!

You have also become so squirmy that you absolutely must be belted in to every bouncy seat and swing the minute we sit you down. Daddy put you in the swing today, which is reclined, so you are pretty much lying on your back. He turned for just a couple of minute and you were already squirming your way out of it. You don't get upset about it at all. That is what is so funny. If you could, you would just get up and walk away. You are so ready to just take off and go somewhere. It makes us laugh how badly you want to get up and go. You have this amazing strength in your legs and you take little steps if we hold you up. You have been doing this for a couple of months now. We are beginning to think that you are going to walk before you crawl. We would not put it past you. Besides I walked very early as a baby myself.

I can’t believe how much you have changed this week alone. We have been told numerous times how quickly you will grow and it is so true. It really scares us how quickly it all happens. But we look forward to each and every day of it.

I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Today’s book: Touch and Feel Baby Animals