Update- about 5 1/2 months

This is just a random picture Cloee took a few days ago

Cash is doing so great. He sleeps good, eats good, and plays rather well. I just noticed that he is really starting to grow. He has been steady thus far but seemed to have plumped up in the last 2 weeks or so. Today I mentioned to Will that he seems pretty hearty. Will said, "Yeah and robust." Then we laughed and commented that Cash isn't tomato soup. I thought of tomato soup when I heard 'hearty and robust'. Not sure why.
He doesn't have his next checkup for a few more weeks so I don't know how much he weighs. Maybe I will put him on the scale here at home one of these days. He has fit in 3 month and 3-6 month clothes just fine for a long time now but is finally starting to bust out of the 3 month clothes and I'm sure it will be soon that I will have to pack away the 3-6 month stuff as well.
When he got his 4 month shots he got a huge knot in his thigh. It started out almost twice the size of a marble. It slowly got smaller, down to a marble size, pea size and now is about half the size of a pea or maybe smaller but it is definitely still there. It has been at least 6 weeks. It makes me so mad. I don't know if it is from the needle or from the immunization fluid. It doesn't seem to bother him anymore but I am definitely going to bring it up to Dr Campbell when we go in a few weeks. The nurse knew it was there within seconds after the injection. She gave him the shot then placed a cotton ball on it and felt it then. She asked me if he welted last time he got shots but I couldn't remember anything too abnormal. I hope she didn't do it in the wrong place or doing it wrong somehow.
Just to look back on and know exactly how good he was at sleeping...
Up until recently he would wake once in the night and just wanted to nurse for a few minutes. I don't think he was ever hungry so I decided he needed to start skipping that feeding. For a few nights when he woke up I would just get him up and put him on my shoulder and stand right by his crib and sing him a few songs. He was mostly fine with that and once or twice tried to inch down to nurse but I just held him on my shoulder and would continue to sing. Then I would put him back in his crib, while he was still partly awake but relaxed, and he would go back to sleep. After about 5 nights of this, I finally stopped going in to get him up and I just let him cry. The first night I just turned the sound on the monitor down while he cried and I watched the red lights when he made noise. He didn't cry very long, off and on for maybe 15 minutes and it wasn't really evening crying, just whining. The next night he woke again but only fussed for a few minutes. He never woke again after that. He has slept through the night for almost a week now. And he has been going to bed between 8:30 and 10:30 (depending on how busy our night is) and wakes between 6:45 and 7:30. Sometimes I wake before him because my boobs are so full and I'm leaking milk. I even went in and woke him up yesterday so he could nurse because I had become so engorged. On the weekends he takes really great naps (3-4 hours), if we are home and he can be in his crib. But during the week when things are busy his naps are often cut short because we take Cloee to dance or preschool every day. On preschool days (M,W, F) we go back home and he can take a nap in his crib but I always have to wake him up when we go pick her up. On dance days (Tues, Thurs) he falls asleep on the way to dance but wakes when we get inside because of all the commotion. I usually stay and watch her dance and he gets really fussy by the time it is over because he is so ready to be sleeping. If we go run errands after preschool or dance then he will sleep in the car until we go inside wherever we are going. He's not good at sleeping while we walk around Target or Fry's. If we just go straight home afterwards then I put him in his crib and he will take a great nap, usually 4 hours. He is VERY adaptable. He pushes through and will eventually get fussy but if we have 2 or 3 days  in a row where we are running errands he will still go right back to taking good naps if given the chance to sleep at home in his bed.
On a great day- a Saturday with nothing to interrupt and nowhere to go- he would wake at 7am and nurse and play. Go back to sleep from 9 until 12:30, sometimes longer. Wake up and eat again, sometimes baby food now that he is starting that and nurse too, then go back to sleep about 2:30 and sleep until 6, sometimes longer. Then nurse, play and maybe eat some more baby food. Then bath or shower with Mommy and then nurse. Then play for about 30 minutes. And then into bed about 9pm. That is a typical day for Cash and his sleep and eat schedule when things are busy and we aren't on the go. Obviously things change a bit when we are out and about and on the go.
He is getting to be a ton of fun to play with. He is starting to have giggles when he laughs. Sometimes no voice comes out still. He still seems to favor Cade quite a bit. Cade is very patient when he gets fussy, unlike Carlee, Cloee, or Daddy. He really tries to make him happy, but usually he has become tired and just wants to go to bed. Everyone loves to make faces at him or tickle him to make him laugh and giggle. He is SUPER ticklish and I just love it.
He can totally roll back and forth and all over. He doesn't sit up well by himself yet. I sit indian style and put him in the bend of my leg and lay him there to feed him baby food and he doesn't like it. He tries to do a sit up. It makes me laugh and I have to press on his chest so he will lay back. I think he just doesn't like laying on his back. He wants to sit up or flip over. He started sleeping on his tummy soon after he learned to roll. Ever since, I have placed him in bed on his tummy and he seems to love it. (Although he still spits up at random times so it worries me that he could be sleeping with his face in spit up. I have found some spots in his bed but he seems to move away from it, so that is a good thing.)
He likes to play with small stuffed toys, can hold little baby toys, and LOVES to squeeze and empty water bottle. He even draws up his feet and holds stuff with both hands and both feet. He still pulls his feet up and sucks on his toes. I love it and think it is so cute.
One thing he has done since very early on (maybe even since birth but I know for sure since 3 months) is chew on his thumb and pointer finger at the same time, usually the left hand. He puts them in the side of his mouth towards the back. He isn't teething back there (for a long time) but just likes to chew on those two fingers. He doesn't suck, just chews. We will see if he grows out of this sometime soon or not.

Sleeping...

I can't get enough of his kissable cheeks and big blue eyes!

I have the BEST baby ever! The last few nights, and tonight as well, I took Cash in his room, snuggled him on my shoulder and stood and swayed with him as I sang him a few songs. Then I told him "nigh night" and lay him in bed. I walked out and he pretty much just went to sleep. Sometimes he will do this talking/fussing thing but it only lasts for a minute or two and he does it off and on, not continuously. He is really learning to put himself to sleep- on his own, NOT on the boob. I just love it.
It would make him seem like a stinker if I were to mention that he cried for nearly an hour before bed tonight and wouldn't calm down even when Cade or Cloee would hold him. He was super tired and I knew it. I was in the middle of making a new recipe and couldn't walk away from the stove. I held him for a minute or so and he was completely fine. When I gave him back to Cade he just cried and cried. I knew he wanted me to nurse him real quick and put him to bed. I wish he could talk sometimes, although without him talking I still knew what he wanted. I'm really beginning to know what his cries mean and what he is wanting when he is fussing or crying. I get annoyed because Will and the kids just say "here Mom, he wants you." Well he may want me sometimes but the other 75% of the time they could satisfy him- if they only knew what he wanted or wouldn't be so selfish and would just let me give them instructions so Cash would stop crying. Sometimes it is just as easy as changing his diaper.
I am having so much fun with this little guy. I just love every minute. Even those 20 minutes today when he cried the entire way home from the post office :)

Nicknames (courtesy of Jennie Nichols)

Ca$heroo (when he sneaks sips of Mama's Pepsi and is bouncing off the walls)
Ca$hola
Ca$hca$h
Ca$hmoney
Ca$hers
Ca$hycashers
Ca$hycash
Ca$heroni
Ca$hman (When he's just chillin)
Ca$hcan (When he's a growing teen and eats a ton)
Ca$hmachine (when he does something really cool)
Ca$hcow (when he owns a sucessfull business)
WhiteCa$h (when he runs around barefoot and Only his diaper)
Ca$hmaster (when he's the boss of the house)
Coldca$h (when he takes his first ski trip)
Ca$hew (when he needs a healthy snack)
Ca$htestdummy (the first time he takes a spill down the stairs)
And...last but not least...
Bengi ($100 bill)

Almost 5 months

Well it is a little overwhelming to me to be starting yet another blog. But I have a new little man that deserves his very own blog.
I will just start with today, since getting started is the hardest part. I would like to go back to my pregnancy and birth but I just want to capture what my sweet baby boy is doing RIGHT NOW.
Cash is almost 5 months. He rolls both from tummy to back and back to tummy. He's tried rice cereal a few times but doesn't seem to like it too much. He flinches, gags and shivers when he eats it so I might have to try something different. When we give him 'big people' food he seems to love it- watermelon, french fries, etc (we just put it to his mouth and let him suck on stuff).
I can't get enough of Cash's giggle. He is super ticklish. But he also likes when I say silly things to him like "ah-boo". Kinda my version of peek a boo without hiding behind something. Although he is starting to like that as well. I can smooch on Cash's chest, kinda below his neck, and it tickles him so much. Sometimes he is laughing but he doesn't know how to get the sound out so it is a great big grin with no noise. He is getting better now, as he gets a little older, at getting the sounds out. He likes to try to talk and it looks like he is forcing himself to yell or something. It is so funny. It kinda comes out like "uhhhh" in a raspy voice.
Speaking of raspy voice... this little guy has had THE worst reflux. It seems like he has been a spitter-upper basically since birth but I can't quite remember. He was first put on prescription medicine (Axid) for it at 2 months. The meds worked for about 3 weeks so I called Dr Campbell and she switched him to something a little stronger (Zantac). At his 4 month checkup I told Dr Campbell how he was having a horrible time with the reflux and the medicine doesn't really work. She told me we could try Prevacid but they only made a pill that was the dosage of about a 1 year old. We decided to try it and I just break it in half and he chews it up. It dissolves really fast and he gums it until he swallows it. That has been hit or miss if it works or not. I recently found out that I can give him the Prevacid along with either the Zantac or Axid because the Prevacid is in a different drug family than the other two. So for two days now I have done that and he seems A LOT better. But who knows if it will last. Every time I try something new it seems to work for a few days or a week or so and then doesn't work any more. I think it is the last thing we can try so I pray it works.
In addition to spitting up a lot he will then cry. The timing is right on so I know he is crying because his throat is burning. He will shove his whole hand in his mouth, makes me think he is trying to get to the owie in his throat. And he drools and drools after lots of spitting up. His throat must burn. I can tell by the way he acts. It just breaks my heart. Sometimes even though I know he's not hungry I will still nurse him because I know it is soothing to his throat. I sure hope we can get this taken care of with these meds because it must be miserable for him. Despite this though, he is the best little baby around. Very adaptable. Has always gone to sleep at night around 9pm and up around 9am, waking once around 5am to eat. I love it when he wakes up while Daddy is still home. He will go get him from his crib and change his diaper and get some smiles for a few minutes before he leaves for work and then I will nurse him and he will go right back to bed. Sometimes I let him stay on Daddy's side but I never can sleep very well with him laying over there. If he would lay by me and let me snuggle him without trying to eat then that would be great but he must smell me in his sleep and he starts rootin' around. Little stinker bug!

Since the day Cash was born Cade has been 100% in love with him!!! He can't get enough of him. And if Cash is asleep then it's a lost cause, Cade WILL be smooching all over him. Often to the point of waking him up. The first thing Cade wants to do when he gets home from school is kiss and hold Cash. It is so cute. Sometimes when we are driving Cade will say, "when we get home I'm holdin' Cash first". I love the brotherly bond they have. I hope Cade continues to think he is the sweetest thing, even when Cash is a pesky little 2 year old :)
Cloee likes to try to tote Cash around but she is rather small and Cash is kinda heavy for her. We try to just let her carry him around on the carpet, since it is softer than the tile, but I always find her all over the place with him. Just tonight she carried him in to the laundry room to me. She hasn't had any trips or falls with him yet but you just never know... She loves him to pieces but she has a very hard time when he cries. I think it irritates her but more than that- it actually hurts her ears. Sometimes to the point of making her cry. Luckily he doesn't cry too often.
Carlee likes Cash but is pretty occupied with other things- dance, school, and friends. She, as well as Will and the other kids, is always afraid he is gonna puke on her so she is less likely to ask to hold him or to just go randomly pick him up. She does love when he giggles and smiles and I think it melts her heart just as much as it melts mine when he does that.

Cash is such a joy to our family. After having him I was a bit worried because it took me about a week to really feel a connection and to bond with him. Once I started to feel that bond with him then I felt like everyone else could go away and I would be so happy with just my baby and me. As he's gotten older I have been able to see the big picture and realize that he isn't the only one I have to care for and so he does get put down and ignored here and there, though not that often because luckily all 3 of the other kids are old enough to either wait or to do "it" (whatever they may need) themselves. I love this little guy and I seriously miss him if he takes too long of a nap.
And oh my goodness he has the cutest little dimple on his right cheek!!!!