I booked a photo package to capture you at 100 days, 200 days and 1 year from the photography studio Looky Looky. The studio is made up of different sets made especially to capture babies. They had the cutest props to choose from!
I chose 3 concepts and the photographer and assistant cycle through a number of pre-set poses quite quickly. They made you do a lot of tummy time to get the head up poses, you were not happy! By the middle of the 2nd concept, you were grumpy and tired and we had to take a break so I could feed you and give you a 30min nap. After this, you were refreshed for the last concept which was to dress you up like a teddy bear :) Here are some of my favourite pics:
These past 5 months have gone so fast with you. I know I've missed quite a few updates since you were born but the more I procrastinate to do a good job with photos and videos of you, the more likely that there won't be any updates. So I'm going to put my thoughts in here when I can so that these memories slowly build up.
My smiling chubby baby, you are such a joy to the whole family. You smile all the time, whether it's eating, playing, being held. Oh how you love to be held. We have to hold you ALL the time so I don't have any time to do anything. I spend your naps carrying you around, so right now you are sleeping while I carry you. I have to stand up and type on the laptop bc you don't like people to sit down while being carried. Such a little fuss pot! Though we all do this willingly because your giggles and smiles when you wake up are so precious. You are very sneaky though bc when you wake up, you stay so quiet in the carrier so that we carry you for longer. No tears at all when you wake up.
You are now 5 and a half months. Yesterday you rolled for the first time! I captured it on video and will post here.
You also started solids at 4.5 months old and you LOVE your purees, it's a dream to feed you. I took this video this morning because you kept smiling and laughing as I was feeding you. These are the foods you've tried:
- sweet potato, peas, carrots, apples, cauliflower, pumpkin
You seem to love the pumpkin and sweet potato best, so I try to mix it with the other veges.
You slept through the night 2 nights ago...and haven't done it since. You slept from 7.30pm to 5.30am and oh my boobs were so full. You might have slept longer but we had a huge storm in the morning and the thunder woke us both up. Thankfully at nights you are happy to sleep in your basinette after the feeds.
You must be around 8kg now, you were 7.4kg at 4ish months. You have the sweetest and gummiest smile. You look like you might be sitting up on your own soon, probably from all the practice sitting in your baby chair to eat your solids.
The first 6 weeks were the absolute hardest. Your cried A LOT. Probably because you couldn't feed very well on my boobs. It was a struggle for both of us and so painful for me. I persevered but was tempted to give up on each feed because your latch wasn't right and every time I fed you, it felt like needles being stuck into me. At 6 weeks, you suddenly didn't need to be held to sleep and I managed to sleep a bit more than 1.5-2hours at a time. I was so sleep-deprived the first 6 weeks! I don't know how I survived. But since then, it got easier and easier. You know feed well, sleep well and growing fatter every day.
We try to follow a bedtime routine for you but it's hard to juggle on some days. Lucas has been lovely and reads Good Night Moon to you sometimes. He doesn't even need to read the words, he's memorised it from us reading the same book to him when he was a baby.
I know this post is out of order, so I'll go back and write another post with your first few months with more videos. It's much easier to link to the youtube videos that I have been uploading rather than the photos. Oh, photos! You did the cutest professional photos at 4 months! I will definitely upload those on here!
This is a video of Daddy reading a bedtime story to me last night. I was more interested in eating Daddy's hand.
Grandma came over and read a story to me in Chinese today. Thank you, Grandma. It took a lot of effort to concentrate for so long, especially for a not-quite-5-month old baby!
You learnt a new trick this week - blowing raspberries (bubbles). It was hard to capture on video. I saw you do it while I was changing you but when I got my phone, you stopped. You can see a bit of it at 1min18. You're getting chubby but in this video, it's definitely the angle that makes you look chubbier!
You started to get very annoyed near the end of the video because I didn't pick you up. You're definitely not shy in voicing your annoyance!
Here are some photos from you playing today. You still love to eat your toys.
So much fun having Daddy hold me while I jump around! Here's a video from today:
From Mummy:
I can't believe you are turning 5 months old this week! Your legs are getting so strong with all the jumping around. You're getting louder and more vocal, lots of shrieking and laughing out loud. Today on the play gym, you started turning and shuffling around on your back. After 15 minutes, you had turned 180 degrees, from the top of the play gym to the bottom. You kept pulling on all the different toys to put them in your mouth. We definitely have to keep an eye on you as you might start rolling over soon.
It's Lucas here and this is my first post! I wanted to share my day with you.
I woke up at 6am today and called out to Mummy because I was hungry. I got fed and then I pooped. After my nappy change, I went downstairs to play in the bouncer while Mummy had her breakfast. Daddy came downstairs and gave me a hug and kiss before he went to work.
I went back upstairs to get changed. Mummy kept telling me how much I'd grown and started taking photos of me. I know my fan club thinks I have the "Banh posing gene" but I just want everyone to know that I'm not a poser. Mummy uses 3 different cameras during the day and is always taking photos of me. I can't help looking naturally cute.
Grandma & Grandpa Tran are in America right now on holiday and have been regularly checking the blog for photos of you. I'm sure they are missing you a lot, so here is a video taken this morning so they can see how much you've grown and how much you are talking now.
Grandma & Grandpa Banh came by the other day with lots of Chinese books and CDs for you. You've got new reading material and look like you're really enjoying looking at the pictures
I sprained my back yesterday while bending over to pick you up from the bouncer. While I recover, we won't be able to use the bouncer as it's too low to the ground for me to pick you up. Luckily, I was very prepared and bought a booster seat before you were even born. I went to the garage to get it today and your Aunty Mandy and I tried it out with you. You did pretty well in the seat and I'm sure you much prefer being closer to the action at the dinner table from now on. You can't actually sit on your own yet but you do pretty well when there is some support. It's also good practise because you'll be sitting in the booster to eat solid food in 6 weeks time!
Since about 4 months old, you settled yourself into a routine of taking 3 naps a day every 2-3 hours. If you don't get your nap or you don't sleep long enough, you become a bit grumpy. Your Aunty Mandy found out first-hand when she came to visit you last week. It's a funny story, here's what happened:
Aunty Mandy wanted to visit you so I told her the approximate time you would be awake. Only that day you didn't fall asleep until about 20 mins before Aunty Mandy came over. While watching you sleep, she accidentally woke you up. You showed your annoyance by avoiding eye contact with her during her visit. I was holding you while Aunty Mandy kept trying to catch your attention. No matter how many times she moved in front of your face, you would immediately turn your head the other way. It was like a little dance, she would move one direction and your head would swivel to the opposite direction. I had no idea 4 month old babies were able to show their annoyance like that! You didn't hold a grudge for too long. By the end of her visit, you guys were friends again.
So this is how we usually spend a typical weekday:
7am: you wake up. You hardly ever cry when you wake up in the morning. You sometimes call out to me or you'll move around in your bassinet. When I hear you wake up, I'll pop my head over your bassinet. Whenever you see me, you'll give me a wide gummy smile. I'll pick you up for a cuddle and then take you to your nursery for a nappy change. Then it's time for your feed. When you finish one side, I'll take you downstairs and put you in the bouncer while I have breakfast. In the mornings, you're happy to play on your own for a bit while I have my cereal. As Daddy gets ready to leave for work, he'll give you a cuddle and play with you a bit before he goes. After I finish breakfast, we'll have play time. I'll read you a story, sing some nursery rhymes, or take some photos/videos for the blog. Here are some photos from today's playtime:
We read a new book today
It's a cloth book so you're able to turn the pages
It was such a beautiful, sunny day today. Can't believe it's supposed to be the middle of winter. I took you into the backyard so you can play in the fresh air. Here is a video and photo story:
Tummy time is still a chore for you. I timed you today and you barely made it to 2 minutes before you put your head down and refused to do any more! Here's the video. You lifted your head up pretty high in the beginning though, so you're definitely improving.
It was such a beautiful day today after such a wet week. I took you out for a walk to our local park. It was your first time there and also the first time in the baby carrier without your newborn insert. The last time I took you in the carrier, you still couldn't hold your head up. It is much more enjoyable for you now that you can look around while we walk.
At first you seemed a bit overwhelmed with all the noise and the bright sunshine. I found it funny that you kept trying to hide your face away from the sunshine. You really are my little boy!
Daddy and I had our first movie date night today! We saw the new Superman movie though Mummy fell asleep during the first part of it and then got really hungry and missed more of the movie by leaving to buy some food. Your grandparents and Aunty Mandy came to babysit you while we were out. You haven't seen Aunty Mandy in a while since she had exams and you seemed extra-excited when you saw her today. You showered her with smoochie kisses and hugs.
Here's a round-up of photos from this week (week 18):
Round 2 for sleeping through the night, yay! You woke up at 10pm last night but we rocked you back to sleep in your cot and you didn't wake up again until 5am this morning. I love it when you wake up and play on your own, cooing to yourself. You were obviously very hungry at 5am, so I took you back into our bed and fed you. I fell back asleep listening to you happily chatting to yourself, lying between me and Daddy. I woke up at 7.30am and Daddy told me a funny story. He was sleeping and woke up to a gentle tapping. He turned over and found it was you tapping him on the back! Luckily you were there to wake him up because he missed this morning's alarm. What a cute alarm clock you make.
You've got more control over your hands now. Here is a video and some photos I took yesterday of you on the activity mat. You're able to grab the toys now and promptly put them into your mouth.
I've been one week late with these 4 month stickers, so just imagine these photos with about 200g less chub! I realised I didn't put up the 3 month photos from the previous month, so here are a couple photos from 3 month shoot:
Now that Daddy is home, you have someone different to change your morning nappy and to play with you. Here's a video of you and Daddy this morning. You let off a major fart near the end of the video and being the mature parents that we are, we cracked up laughing and couldn't stop.
Daddy came home from France last night. He rushed to pick you up when you woke up for your 10pm feed but when you saw him, you looked confused and started to cry. Daddy was a bit sad that you seemed to have forgotten him. Things were back to normal again this morning when Daddy changed your nappy. You were back to smiling and screeching happily at him.
I noticed you picked up a new sound today. You've always made the 'gr-gr' sound ever since you started cooing but this morning I noticed you were rounding out your mouth and making a 'br-br' sound. You can hear it in this video I took:
You've hit 4 months now! It's a big milestone because you're not technically a newborn anymore. I can see you're developing your motor skills and cognitive skills now. You're also able to see further and more colours. I can't feed you in the nursery or in the living room anymore because you get so easily distracted by light and shadows. You'll feed for a bit and then hear a noise or see some dancing light and immediately turn to investigate. It's cute for a while but then quite tedious because it takes sooo long to feed you. Now, I only feed you in the bedroom, lying down. There are no distractions and the added benefit is you fall asleep after your feed. Which sounds wonderful, except you want me to be lying down right next to you while you sleep. If I leave the bed, you'll often wake up within 5 minutes. All the books say the routine should be: Eat, Play, Sleep but I have it a bit back to front. You Eat, Sleep and then Play. I've tried it the traditional way but it doesn't seem to work for us. So for the time being, we'll stick with this routine until you're 6 months and then we'll do some nap training. I've read that hitting 4 months is quite overwhelming because you're teething, developing so quickly and learning so much. Throwing in sleep/nap training as well will just be too much for you.
This morning while you napped, I decided to take a video of you to remember all your baby mannerisms that you may soon grow out of. I love watching you sleep. You look so peaceful and calm. I look at your long lashes and your bow lips and it makes me smile. I've taken so many photos of you sleeping but not a proper video. So here it is. A video that somehow perfectly captured the way you move your mouth in your sleep, as though you were still feeding; the way you stretch your arms out and wake yourself up; and the way you look over at me when you wake up and give me a sweet smile.
