On the Five

Boy oh boy, Alex is five whole months old today. My how time flies.

First, some statistics...

Size: Our scale is on the fritz, so I have no idea how much he weighs right now. He is finally starting to fit into some of his 3-6 pants, but in general, they are way too generous in the posterior region but lack in length. What can I say? My kid's got no junk in his trunk. However, he is regularly wearing 12 month sleepers, which fit like a glove. He still wears size two shoes, but has been in size three diapers for several weeks now. I'm expecting him to move up a shoe size any day now, which is depressing because that means he won't fit into his favorite kicks anymore. I guess if we find a shoe we like, we just need to buy it in every size instead of every color...

Eating: He is generally eating about six or seven ounces of formula per feeding, either five or six times a day. I've been kind of lazy about the whole rice cereal thing, usually only doing it a couple of days a week. He has taken to eating so well that I haven't felt much pressure to make him "practice", although it would probably help his digestive system adapt better if I made him do it more often. He is a great eater in the sense that he hardly thrusts at all, so he doesn't make much of a mess. And I've been making it pretty thick, like the consistency of...grits? He doesn't seem to love it, but mostly, I think, because it takes more effort to eat than it does to suck formula out of a bottle. I guess I'm not the only lazy one...

Sleeping: I never thought the day would arrive, but I really don't have much to complain about in the sleep department. His wake up time in the morning is the only real frustration in that it is completely inconsistent, but that could be because his bedtimes are pretty inconsistent, falling anywhere between seven and eight o'clock. He naps once in the morning and at least twice in the afternoon, sometimes a third time if he needs a "pre-bedtime" nap. He's usually a long napper, snoozing for 1.5 to 2 hours on average, and I've found that if I keep him awake and entertained for a full two hours between naps, he'll go right down without much of a fuss.

Physical/cognitive milestones: I don't know that he's achieved any distinct milestones this month, per se. It's been more of an evolution of the things he's already able to do. He is much more in control of his body, and thus, is somewhat more mobile than he used to be. I can't exactly pinpoint how he gets around - it's some combination of rolling, wiggling, and flopping. Not that he's traveling cross-country or anything. He justs never seems to end up where he started out. He spends a lot of time flailing around on his belly, and occasionally does some variation of the "mini-pushup". I still lay him on his back when I put him in bed, which is pretty much a moot effort since he immediately rolls onto his side or belly and falls asleep.

He has pretty strong legs and can stand on them for extended periods of time. If we give him something to hang on to, he can stand on his own. Although he doesn't realize that he needs his hands and inevitably ends up moving them, causing him to flop to the ground ever so ungracefully.

He is also a much better jumper than he used to be and is mad about his jumperoo. Mad, I tell you! I moved it up to the second level last week, but he still acts like he's gonna jump out of the thing. And he continuously bumps his head on the parrot's "butt feathers" in the process (hey Grammy, blame Timothy for that one. I'm just quoting). He is finally getting the hang of the Johnny Jump Up, which requires considerably more effort to operate than the jumperoo. Now, instead of just hanging around and spinning in circles, he manages to hop and get a little bit of air under his feet. As much as a two foot tall white boy can manage, anyway...



His personality is in full bloom and we can't get enough of it. For one thing, he is quite the blabbermouth. All day long, blah blah blah blah, in his jumperoo, blah blah blah blah, when he goes to sleep, blah blah, when he wakes up, blah, blah, blah. He holds entire conversations with us, although we currently speak different languages.



If we become unavailable to chat or have failed to keep his interest, his conversation often resumes with the various components of his jumperoo. Yup, he spends a lot of his time talking to rainbows, parrots, and sunshine. How very psychedelic of him...



He is highly expressive, which makes him so much fun to observe. Kind of like a monkey.

His latest hobby, aside from the constant (attempted) production of raspberries, is whining. In the last couple of days, he has taken to scrunching his face as if he is pained and whining like a big 'ole sissy baby. The whining usually begins and ends with a giggle, so we're pretty sure he just likes the sound of it. Besides, what on earth could this kid possibly have to whine about?



The only time he doesn't do these crazy things is when other people are around. I guess he tries to be on his best behavior when we have guests or when we are out in public because he definitely becomes a more reserved version of himself. I think that's why I take so many pictures and videos of everything he does - proof!

Speaking of pictures, I have taken approximately eleven thousand pictures of Alex at this point, and he's starting to get sick of it. "Enough with the paparazzi," he says. "You need to respect my privacy."

Come on Alex, with fodder like this, how can I resist?

Long story short, he is better than the best baby we could have ever wished for. He is non-stop entertainment and every day gets better than the one before. Can it go up from here? I can't wait to find out!!