Ephram at Five Months

Since Ephram will be six months old in a week, it is probably time that I sit down and do an update about our little guy at five months.

During his fourth month, Ephram became increasingly active.  By the end of the month he was moving every time we put him down and had really started to show his personality.  Nothing makes me laugh more than when Ephram does the one "show off" trick that he has... he plays peek-a-boo with nearly everyone we meet.  He does this by burying his head into my shoulder, and then turning around expectantly (always with a huge smile on his face.)  If he is rewarded with the words "peek-a-boo" or "there he is!" he'll do it several times in a row.  I think Andy gets the best reaction out of him with this game!

There is no four month doctor's appointment, but we measured Ephram at home (to the best of our ability.)

Height: 27 inches (although I don't trust my method on this very much!)
Weight: 17 pounds 5 ounces

He seems to be significantly longer to me, especially as I nurse him - he can now kick anything within proximity of us!

Milestones:
Complete a full roll (from back to front to back again) - 17 weeks
First owie - 17 weeks
First tooth - 5 months

Yes, Ephram got his first tooth on the day he turned five months old.  I had expected he was teething for a few weeks, but did not count on the first tooth to just pop out the way it did.  Ephram didn't sleep for two nights prior, but I figured it may just be a growth spurt.  Then, on his five month birthday, he cried for about 2 hours in the afternoon.  This is very unlike Ephram and I was concerned about what was bothering him.  He fell asleep at the end of his crying bout, and when he woke up a half hour later, I put my finger in his mouth to test if he was hungry.  He bit down, and it hurt.  Just like that, my baby had a tiny tooth.  I am told it is a little early to be teething, although my mom says that I teethed even earlier!

What he's eating:
2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula
At his five month birthday I was still pumping 4 times a day in order to keep my production up so that he would not require more formula.  I always meant to do a post about my quest to feed Ephram, but have never got around to it.  I have struggled to feed him  from the very beginning, and have had to supplement my supply since he was two days old.  At times I have felt like a failure, but have now come to feel more accomplished in the fact that I am still breastfeeding my son at five months, despite all of the obstacles we faced.  I am also much more relaxed about it now that his own immune system is developing and his weight is steadily increasing.  Surprise, surprise my supply has gone up as I've relaxed.

Favorites:
Popcorn Popping (song)
Where's Baby's Belly Button (book)
Exersaucer (toy)

Nicknames:
Little E, which is morphing into Mr. E (Charlie thinks it is funny that this sounds like "mystery")
Little Bug
Monkey

He is proving to be very good at manipulating things with his feet, so we say he has monkey feet, just like his dad!

Here are some pictures from the final week of Ephram's fourth month!