5 Months Old

Yup! Friday, Kaden will be 5 months old. I will admit it does feel like it has been 5 months or longer that he has been with us...just due to the reflux. I am thrilled that he is getting SO much better, and sleeping GREAT at night and the Zantac is a miracle drug. If I forget to give it to him, he lets me know by fussing later in the day.

Overall, the spit up is uncontrollable on certain days- it is just a part of his life! Most of the babies with reflux outgrow it by around 9 months but some take up to a year. The diaper bag is always packed with tons of burp cloths~ As you can imagine, some days can seem overwhelming as I see the laundry pile up from one little boy! But, I try not to lose heart and focus on the bigger things; giggles, days when he doesn't spit up and of course all the interaction that occurs between him and Parker.

At the beginning of May- I started to wean Kaden from nursing. I have a great supply of breast milk, but I was "going CRAZY" with the double feedings on certain days (due to ALL the spit up and then feeding all over again, and then spitting up all over again...etc )! It was taking everything out of me and I was not getting proper sleep. So, we started him on Nestle Good Start Gentle Digestion and it is helpng tremendously! It's taking longer for him to digest, breaking up the feedings to only 3 bottles a day (and 2 cereal feedings) Yippee! The best thing is he goes to bed between 8 & 8:30 and sleeps till 7AM! Once in awhile he is up at 5AM (but we take turns when that occurs and he goes back to sleep). I consider it a real blessing that I have never struggled to nurse or "had a problem producing a good milk supply", but Mike and I heavily agreed that I needed to stop for my sanity and for Kaden! We have seen a predictable schedule now. Some days he would eat every hour or 45 minutes! I am a HUGE advocate that "breast is best" but each child is different. It is so time consuming with an almost 3 year old in the house too. I am thrilled we got through 4 & 1/2 months of solid breast feeding. I still have 1 feeding a day with him but it is mainly to soothe him. Kaden is becoming a great sleeper now that he has a happy fulfilled tummy.

Kaden weighed 7lbs 6 oz at birth and I weighed Kaden this Am....Drum roll please! He was 18.8 lbs
Parker was 21 pounds at his first birthday, I think Kaden is going to top that!

This past Sunday, we took Kaden to our friend’s pool. It was his first time in the pool. He was not so sure what to think. Big Brother, Parker LOVED getting in the pool (unlike last summer). Last year he was not interested at all in the pool. Hopefully we will have more time to attend the pool. It is hard with Kaden's morning naps to get in a ton of time at the pool-so I will take what we can get! Parker HATED the sand last year too. So, I am not even going to force the beach on him yet. I’m still trying to get used to tugging two to the pool. I really think he is trying to catch up to big brother!? 
Overall we are thrilled to have Kaden as a part of our family and glad to have his reflux under control (most of the time).

Check out his precious little legs...I often catch myself "squeezing" them-they are just so kissable! Never got the rolls with Parker so it is fun to see them on Kaden!

We love you Baby Kaden…keep on growing! We can’t wait to see you at 1 year!