Month 5

Alec rolls and scooches like crazy. He can change direction, seemingly in whatever way he wants to go to get to his toys. When he is on his belly he gets up on his tippy toes and sticks his butt high in the air - sometimes rolling over this way, other times scooching forward. I am nervous crawling could be jsut around the cornor.

Alec went to his first playground. He was fascinated by the many seagulls and ducks there. Though there were way too many for my taste. Alec got his first ride on a baby swing. He seemed to really enjoy it. He is growing up so fast!

I read a quote today that summed up my feelings about parenting pretty well "The days are long, the years are short." So true. I want to hold onto this time, keep this sweet loving baby small and cuddly just a little extra while. I feel guilty that I am so happy. I love this little guy so much and he brings me such joy. I live in fear somethign will happen to change all this. Life is so mysterious.

Alec is growing hair! I got so sad when I saw the peach fuzz growing on his arms and legs. I remember the amazement at seeing his skinny hairless chicken legs and arms, how smooth all his brand new skin was. He is growing more hair onthe top of his head too. Beautiful golden hair. Though he still looks like a cue ball :)

Alec got up on all 4's the other day when all his grandparents were visiting. He was obviously putting on a show. Up on his knees and elbows, rocking back and forth. I am just starting to deal with the constant rolling and the sitting. Now this! He still puts his rear way up in the air and can't really go anywhere yet but I know that will come very soon. When he tries to move now he pushes with his legs but doesn;t move his arms at all so he falls on his face. It's hard not to laugh sometimes.

Alec tried a sippy cup for the first time the other day. He has been fascinated by our drinks and food lately so I figured it was time. He has especially been taken with water bottles and will play with one for hours. Thoguh I think putting the cold bottle in his mouth makes his poor teething gums feel good. He liked the sippy cup though he seemed a bit shocked when he found he was drinking water. I think he thought it was a bottle. Starting solids should be fun, though I think we will still wait until 6 months.

Alec is now pulling up on stuff. Good grief. I sat him in his crib in front of his piano and all of a sudden he is gropping the top of the piano and pulling up. Thankfully he can't get into a sitting position on his own yet. We are going to be in so much toruble then. he then repeated his pulling up trick later tonight when I stuck him in the laundry basket. He was just sitting there havign a grand old time when all of a sudden he grabbed the side and pulled himself up. He's not strong enough to hold himself up for long (he does weigh 21+ pounds!) but soon. He had such a look of determination and concentration that Michael and I couldn't help but laugh. If we are so amazed at these milestones I can only imagine how we will react to the big ones like crawling, walking, talking....

Alec is determined to crawl. He gets up on all 4s constantly now and rocks back and forth. He is constantly devleoping new methods to try to get somewhere. He will try hopping his rear legs while on all 4s, will plant his face in the ground and push off with his feet, he'll lock knees and elbows and sway, he'll lie on his stomach and swing his arms about to rotate or pull himself. he is fiercly detemrined and can get across the room when he puts his mind to it. Though he often melts down in a pool of frustrated sobs before that happens. It is so tough watching him be so frustrated, though somewhat amusing as well. He cracks us up.

Those teeth are really bothering him as well I think. He drools and his fingers are constatly in his mouth. He loves to grab our finger and put them in his mouth as well. Must be so painful. We try the Ambesol for his gums and it seems to help a little, though I can;t say he likes it much. He makes quite the face when he realizes what I put in his mouth. He does like the baby Tylenol though which I broke down and gave him the other night becasue he was so cranky and couldn;t seem to nap for more than 15 minutes. Must taste good!

Alec got his 5 month photos taken at our new Sears. She did an excellent job - I am so happy with these photos. So much better than his 4 month pictures.

We took him to the pool in our new apratment complex the other night, figuring he would love the pool since he loves his bath so much. Unfortunately the water was freezing! Absolutely freezing. I had planned on going in and it was too cold for me. So we sat by the side of the pool and hung our feet in. It wasn;t so bad once you got used to it. But we tried dipping Alec's feet in and he was horrified. His face turned purple and he let out this terrible scream of indignation. Poor guy - did not expect the water to be so cold! So no pool for us. I did just sign him up at the Y for baby swim classes this fall so that will be fun. I am hopign the pool is heated there!

I am taking this opportunity to enjoy all the snuggling and holding that Alec will allow me to. He is so eager to move, so eager to explore everything and his inability to do so is so frustrating to him. I know as soonas he figures it out there will be no looking back. My baby will be taking his first steps towards independence. While I am excited for him to grow into this wonderful little human being, I am goign to miss this sweet dependent little guy that I held in my arms for months, snuggled and nuzzled. He is almost six months. The next six months will bring major changes. He will crawl, sit up, stand up, walk, and talk. Oh my little Alec! Halfway through your first year almost. Unbelievable.

I think we will start cereal next week, about a week shy of six months. He is so ready and a week shouldn't make that hug a difference in relation to allergies. I am getting excited. Though part of me is sad. I know thi swill start to change our nursing relationship, the frequency of nursing willd decrease and in a few short months nursing will probabably cease entirely. When you think about it, motherhood is this all defining role, but it is so fleeting. The time one spends pregnant, nursing and caring for a baby is so short compared to the size of an average life. I am becoming increasingly aware that these are the sweet years, despite the exhaustion, and that they will be over before I know it. I intend to enjoy them to their fullest. Alec makes that so easy, he is the sweetest kid.

I got Alec this toy called "The babbler" It is this moon that talks in Japanese, Spanish and French. I finally got batteries for it today and gave it to him and all he could do was laugh. He absolutely loved it. I had to get it on film, he would just look at it and laugh and laugh.

Those teeth continue to plague him. Where are you teeth!?

So I am the worst mother ever. Alec and I were hanging out on the bed and he had been drinking out of my water bottle. Needless to say we got water all over him and the bed. So I took the sheet and mattress pad off the bed and stripped him to his diaper. We were now just hanging out on the slippery mattress. I don't know why I didn't just put new sheets on right away. So there we are lying on the bed. Then I'm just lying on the bed. Where is Alec!? My heart stopped for a minute, I couldn't register what had happened. He was on the floor! On his back! His head was sort of tilted back. I was hysterical, scoooped him up and screeched for Michael. That would be when Alec started sobbing. Mike came and took Alec and he was sobbing, i was sobbing, poor Michael, he was so confused. Through the confusion adn tears I managed to calm down enough to call the pediatrician on call and nurse Alec. Alec seemed fine thankfully but I couldn;t shake the feeling that something really awful could have happened. I have been holding my precious son closer ever since. I feel like I was given a second chance or something. If somethink had happened to him I don;t know what I would have done. I am just so thankful - not even a bruise and he was laughing and playing like normal right away. Poor sweet kid, has a crazy, nervous wreck of a mother.

Alec is making lots of new friends and it is so cute to watch him interacting with the other babies. He'll reach out and grab at them, or pat them and he even tries to suck their toes, silly guy.

Alec had a very rough night the other night, woke up just about every half hour. You could tell he wanted to stay asleep but just couldn't. As soon as we'd pick him up he'd fall back asleep. He finally settled in for the night at 3 am. We were exhausted. It was so out of character for him I called the pediatrician and took him in the next day. I was worried it was an ear infection, but his ears looked good so it could have been teeth, growth spurt, or anything really. He also hadn't had a poopy diaper in 7 days so the doctor thought that could be the cause of his problems. So he suggested starting some fruit. I was so happy with this doctor, he was so supportive that Alec had been exclusively breastfed for 6 months and that we had delayed solids. Alec was obviously thriving on the breastmilk alone and this is so much better for allergies and immunities. So we did start some prunes and he loved them! And now we are doing some cereal as well. Scarfs it right down. It;s so funny to watch his face when he tatses it. He looks at me like"what is this mom? this is so cool! I am so cool! Look at me!" He is the sweetest boy.

Oh and he weighed 21 lbs and 8 ounces at the doctors. Big guy! I am anxious to see his height at his six month appointment next week. Where has the last six months gone?

Luckily that half hour waking was a one time thing. Alec is generally sleeping pretty well now. He goes to bed between 9:30 and 10 and gets up between 4 and 6 to nurse then goes right back to sleep until 9:30 or so. Works for me. Hopefully our trip to Boston next week won't mess him up too badly. he hates that port-a-crib!

He crawls. It isn't pretty but he crawls. Lets mark the date as 8/24 for crawling. It's been a subtle progression though so its hard to pin an exact date. But he is now finally moving his arms and legs in a somewhat coordinated pattern. He still belly surfs and does the wounded soldier crawl a lot but onoccassion he has perfect form on all fours. Regardless the kid can cross the room. He scares me. He is on the verge of getting himself into a sitting position as well. He is knocking through these milestones and not looking back. He is in such a hurry to grow up. My little son.