Friday, April 6, 2012

Five months

Dear Alex,

Five months sounds like such a big baby! You're really still a peanut, though. You're about 12 pounds and 23 inches, which is on the extreme bottom of the growth curve. But you're alert and happy and otherwise pretty healthy.

You've rolled from your back to tummy once or twice at Oma & Granddad's, but not at all since then. You've been doing crunches to try to sit up but don't have the balance yet. You don't talk often, but when you do, it sometimes sounds like words (hi, hello, hey, mama) Your grip is strong when you decide to use it (usually on my skin!). When given a doll, you'll most likely go for the hair or head and try to put it in your mouth.

Sleep is sort of getting better - you'll go down more easily after you're changed into jammies & brace and read a story (and fed and swaddled), but you'll usually wake up a few hours later ready to nurse - fine, because you come into bed with us then, but then you're up to nurse a couple more times before morning. If I have to be up early, it's pretty rough! But it's nice having a bedtime routine now.

You hate baths. And showers. You scream like we're hurting you, even after you're out and being toweled off, and you look at us like "why did you DO that to me?!!" So you don't get baths very often.

We spent spring break week with Daddy's parents, and went into Boston and had fun with them. You ate solids much more than before, including half a banana (mashed up) and sweet potato. When you like what you're eating, and we're not giving you another bite fast enough, you yell and cry until we give you more! Mostly you get whatever we're eating that's safe for you to eat, mashed up.

Your brace is only on for "nights and naps" now - except you won't wear it for naps. If I try to put it on you, you'll wake up from your nap and not go back to sleep. So we're just doing nights for now. I hope it'll be okay in 2 months when we go back for your next visit!

Tomorrow we're seeing Daddy's parents for breakfast and my family for egg-coloring because this weekend is your first Easter! I doubt you'll be very impressed with the egg coloring, as there's not much eating involved with it, but I'm sure you'll like seeing your family and all the attention you get from them.

We have a couple of swim diapers and a rash guard T shirt for you for swimming/ summer if you're interested in going in the water. I have my doubts, but Daddy's going to try anyway.

This last month has been so wonderful with you. I look at you every day and am so thankful for you. You're so happy and cute and enjoyable! That doesn't erase the hurt from the years before you arrived, but it makes the payoff of having you so much sweeter than if you were a difficult baby!

I love you. We waited for you for a long time, and we're so glad you're finally here.
So much love,
Mummy