Brendan is 22 weeks old today- having hit his 5th “monthday” yesterday! He is growing up so fast!!! ::crazy:: Funny enough, the “I wanna be pregnant” yearning came back this month. Logically, I know that 2 in diapers would be way too difficult for me.
I filled out another one of these progress thingies on August 4 (19 ½ weeks):
How I Grow:
I rock, roll, and twist my body Yes
I kick my feet and suck on my toes No sucking toes yet!
I keep my head and back straight when I sit, if you support my body Yes
I stand up if you hold me under my arms, jump up and down, and stamp my feet Doesn’t jump yet
I have pretty good aim when I grab at something Yes
How I Talk:
I watch your mouth and try to imitate you when you talk to me Oh Yes!
I make sounds like ee, ah, ooh, da-da, bye-bye, ma-ma Oh Yes!
I babble to myself, to my toys, and to people-I get attention that way Yes
How I Respond:
I may cry when I see strangers No
I smile at familiar faces and voices Yes
I look around when I hear sounds Yes
I make sounds and interrupt you conversations because I want attention Yes
I want to touch, hold, turn, shake, and taste everything Yes
I put a lot of energy into everything I do Yes
How I Understand:
I recognize my name Not really… but I often use nicknames
I can tell the difference between myself and others in the mirror Seems to
I look for something when I drop it Yes, and drops things on purpose to see them fall
How I Feel:
I cling to you when you hold me Not too clingy, but you’ll hold onto me
I stop crying when you talk to me Yes
I show fear, anger, and disgust Yes
Brendan has come far in the foods he eats! He had his first taste of Zwieback Toast and Macaroni & Cheese on August 4. Since then he’s had Gerber banana cookies (but they crumble- gotta watch closely!) and frozen bagels, which he doesn’t care for. He loves tomato soup and yogurt. He continues to battle with constipation but I make his morning rice cereal with pears, peaches or prunes and sometimes give him a 4 oz juice bottle too. He has tried oatmeal also, but he might get a small diaper rash from it, so I am sticking with rice for now. He doesn’t like it as well anyway. He continues to dislike plain white potatoes and green beans, but will bravely eat it if he has to! He eats a morning and evening 8 ounce bottle and two 6 1/2 oz bottles in between.
New abilities: Brendan fakes “chewing” and I later came to understand that this means he wants food! He can take out his pacifier and put it back in and recently started “popping” it out of his mouth over and over again. SO cute. He learned to roll over from his tummy to back (August 5- 19 weeks). We were not expecting it quite yet and were delighted! He can *almost* go from back to tummy, but hasn’t done it yet. He can turn his little steering wheel from side to side and push the button to turn his light-up musical aquarium in his crib off and on with his feet. He plays quite happily alone for 15 minute stretches. He writhes with excitement over brushing his teeth and enjoys reading books together too.
He has found his voice big time! He about knocked me out of bed one morning as he mimicked my “hiii” back to me several times. He says mama and dada and baba too. I think he really associates dada with Darrell, and possibly mama with me, but the rest are just sounds he makes. He marvels us with his “talking” and we think he is really bright!
We made the transition to a “big boy” convertible car seat on August 10th (20 weeks). Here is what I posted to the girls about that memorable day:
We went to BRU today to buy a convertible car seat as Brendan is almost an inch taller than the 26″ allowed for his baby seat. We found a good deal on a nice looking one: Evenflo’s Victory 5. So we took it outside and both of us spent an hour and a half trying to fit it into our Ford Explorer. Not only does it NOT fit in the center (too narrow between buckles), but it leans too far forward so that Brendan was sitting straight up! But the kicker was that 17 pound Brendan COULD NOT fit into the belts so we switched to the toddler-sized settings (bad mommy) and no matter what we did, the belts laid across his thighs and pinched him- even in the “bigger” setting there too!!! I can totally understand a car seat not being right for my particular car, but to not fit a 17 pound baby when it supposedly goes up to 40 lbs??? And I read the manual AND we both took a car seat installation class!!
We were going to go grab a soda somewhere since we had exhausted ourselves in near 100 degree weather trying to install this seat, but by then it was 6:40 and BRU closes at 7 on Sundays. So I ran in and looked at a more expensive seat that I had been eyeing online for a week now. It had a slimmer bottom and leaned back further as well as not having the tight thigh problem, so I spent $30 more to upgrade to Evenflo’s Triumph 5 ComfortTouch, their latest and greatest. The other seats they had were not what I prefer in a car seat so I had little choice but to stick with Evenflo.
I installed this car seat in the middle, by myself in 10 minutes flat!!! It is a nice, wide seat with very comfy padding and cloth. And it has the most interesting loosening and tightening mechanism- you use a knob on either side of the seat! Strange, but this seat is sooo secure! And he fell asleep in it both times we’ve put him in it so far! We really like it so far.
Brendan now naps in his crib during the day and I am contemplating moving him to the crib for the night too. He still fits fine in his Pack N Play bassinet by my bed and I still WANT him beside me, but he takes a half hour or more to go to sleep at night and has spurts of days where he wakes up in the middle of the night for no real reason and I think my being right there beside him might be a factor. I am sad to think my baby is less of a baby each day now. I will miss his tiny self beside me every night.
At his 4 month check-up, Brendan’s head circumference came out right above the 95th percentile. “Something to watch,” Dr. G said. Well, DH brought that up last night, so I told him “let’s measure it now that’s he’s 5 months and look on the chart and reassure ourselves that it’s okay.” Oops. Our measurement was 18 1/2 inches- *well* above that last percentile line now. I am starting to worry about it. ::crazy:: Guess I need to make a call to the pediatrician and get some reassurance. 18 ½ inches is a good head size for some 36 month olds!!!
Brendan, my darling son: You are such a delightful boy right now! You are chatty and wiggly and cuddly and so much fun! I hug you and tickle you and kiss your chubby cheeks every day, numerous times. We enjoy reading together, going for car rides with Daddy, playing on the floor and taking baths. You are so smart and so precious that I cry with happiness often. You are my joy and my life and the very sunshine of our lives! We are so blessed to have you!!