Finn at Five Months

We've got a 5 month old! I'm racking my brain, wondering where the time has gone! My body is slowly getting back to it's old self, my hormones are calming down a bit :), and we have a happy little baby who lights up our days!ParentingBeing a new parent is hard. It's funny how I look at other parents who are probably my age, or maybe even younger, and I think that somehow they must know more than I do. I have to repeatedly remind myself that they are probably just as overwhelmed as I am! Not overwhelmed in a "I can't do this" way, but more in a "there's way too much information out there and I just want to know what works but really I know that I need to be the solution rather than searching for the solution" kind of way. Does that make sense?For example, we were at a restaurant the other day and we had brought Finn inside in his carrier. I sat him down on the booth next to me and he pleasantly played with his toys and we had a nice lunch. Meanwhile, another family, with a baby the same size as Finn, walked in and sat next to us. They carried their baby in and asked for a highchair. Immediately I felt insecure. How do I know when the right time is to ask for a high chair?! What is the rule of thumb?! These are the types of things I continue to wonder about! When can Finn sit in the front of a cart at the grocery store? Is he big enough to sit in the front-facing part of his stroller yet? When do give him certain toys?Basically, being a parent is a carousel of endless questions that really don't have a definitive answer.Physical GrowthFinn is growing like a weed. He may be 5 months old, but he is wearing 6 month clothing. He weighs roughly 18 pounds - probably a little more at this point. He likes to put weight on his feet and stand up - while mom or dad hold him of course. He wants to sit up, but can't quite do it on his own. He is spending a lot more time on his tummy, but has trouble getting back to his back, and gets super frustrated cause he can't quite figure out the moving thing!Brain GrowthI'm fearing that we are starting to reach the age of "where did they go?" There have been a few moments in the past week where David or I will walk out of Finn's immediate view and he immediately started to fuss. He certainly knows who mom and dad are though, and I love that little smile every time I walk into daycare to pick him up!Finn is also quite the chatty man. He loves telling stories and hearing us repeat the sounds back to him. He has also started to touch everything. He likes to run his fingernails on different things to get a nice feel. He loves petting Juneau and waking up in the morning scratching his sheets.SleepingWe've moved Finn into his Pack-n-play, which is still in our bedroom. He is now able to roll over in his sleep, which has caused a few terrified moments for me. Everyone keeps reminding me that now that he can get to his belly, it's okay for him to sleep like that but I think I've been scared by one to many horror stories to stay calm. He is still sleeping from about 7pm to 7am, but has started to wake up a few times since he now has the room to move around. He is usually pretty easy to soothe back to sleep, though!EatingMom's still pumping and supplementing about one formula bottle each day, sometimes two. We've started to introduce solids just this week. We started with rice cereal which I actually think looks disgusting. So I moved onto a apple/prune blend and not only was it more appetizing to look at, but he actually liked the consistency much more. He ate about a third of a container last night!Things I Don't Want to Forget

• Finn has started to grab for his bottle and open his mouth to try to get the nipple in. It's so funny! We call it the guppy face.
• The way Finn looks at Juneau is so adorable. He is intrigued and follows him throughout the house with his eyes. The other day I walked in as David was holding Finn and throwing the ball for Juneau and every time Juneau caught the ball, Finn burst out laughing!