Benjamin Patrick - Five Months

To Our Sweet Benjamin,

Wow! I know I say it every month, but I cannot believe you are already five months old! You are a joy, and every day you get cuter and sweeter and happier. Your teachers at daycare have called you a flirt, and it's true that you charm everyone you meet with your sweet smile. You're definitely growing, although you seem to be getting longer rather than chunkier! We were comparing pictures of you and Andrew, and even though you are a couple pounds bigger than Andrew, you look slimmer because you are so long. You are wearing 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. I'm afraid that you won't fit into Andrew's winter clothes. I guess you figured out a way to avoid hand-me-downs and get your own things. You are such a beautiful boy! I know that I'm a biased mom, but I think that you and Andrew are the two most handsome boys! You are getting more and more hair, although in pictures you still look pretty bald. Your hair is a light blond fuzz, and it still has that velvety baby feeling. Your eyes are still a bright, clear blue, and they really pop when we dress you in blue outfits. We get lots of comments about your beautiful eyes!

Likes: This list grows every month, but people are still at the top. You are definitely happiest when someone is talking to you or interacting with you. You love to smile and giggle and talk to people, and it makes you especially happy when people imitate your sounds. You still sound like (what I imagine would be the sound of) a baby dinosaur! You love to chew on things, and I'm guessing you're going to get a tooth soon. Daddy and I were thinking that we felt something in your gums as you chomped on our fingers! You love Sophie the Giraffe and a little teether toy that I found at HEB. You have also become attached to a little blanket with satin edges. You love to chew on it and rub/bury your face in it when you're sleepy. I still don't feel comfortable letting you have it in the crib, but it's nice for you in the carseat or when we're trying to get you to sleep when we're out and about. You still love to be on your belly, whether you are sleeping or awake. You also still love to "stand" in our arms, and apparently you love to jump! Your classroom at school has a jumper, and one day when Daddy picked you up he said you were jumping away in there. Now if we hold you in a standing position on our laps, you bend your legs and jump!

Dislikes: The carseat! Especially if you are tired, you do not like to be put in your carseat. I'm thinking that part of the problem is that you can't see anyone and you feel alone. For a social guy like you, I bet that's a bummer! Whatever it is, you often cry on the way to school, and if we try to go somewhere in the evening (like out to dinner on Friday night), you will sometimes cry (scream) to show us your displeasure! Although it's not a dislike, you don't really seem all that interested in sitting up. If we ever try to prop you up or put you in the bumbo, you try to lean forward to get on your belly. I think you are more interested in going places!

Eating: Well, even after your weight percentile drop, you seem to be eating well. You take bottles well at school, although you don't really seem to have a set pattern or amount - sometimes you'll drink a couple 3 ounce bottles, and other times you down four 5 ounce bottles. You nurse at home, and the biggest problem with this is that you are SUPER distracted. Especially if Andrew is anywhere in the room, you want to pop off and watch him. It makes for difficult nursing sessions! You do seem to nurse better when you are tired. And although I won't be sad to drop those middle of the night nursing sessions, I know there will come a day when I won't get those cuddles and you won't fit in my arms like that, so for now I'll try to see the silver lining! 

Sleep: Oh Ben! What happened to your great sleeping?? Compared to some, I guess you are still not a bad sleeper, but you've definitely regressed. There were nights over the summer that you slept through the night. Slept through the night!!! And now you are up 1-3 times a night. One wakeup isn't too bad, but three wake-ups in a 6-7 hour period is brutal! Cut your mama some slack and sleep! I think part of the reason that you wake up is because you scoot yourself into the corner of the crib and get mad because you're stuck. Even in your sleep you are a mover!

Skills: You are still so talkative, smiley, and engaging. You have started to get really good at grabbing things with your hands. It's such a fun skill, but makes me realize how much child-proofing we are going to have to do. And it's doubly difficult since we now have all of Andrew's tiny toys, that seem to always be all over the house! Your favorite new trick is grabbing one or both of your feet and shoving them in your mouth. It's like you've discovered these great new chew toys that are always attached to you!

Benny, you have charmed us all with your sweet personality and happy grin. We love you so much and love how you fit into our family! Happy Five Months!
 We ended up having to take your pictures over two days. The first day we tried, you (and mostly your brother) were not in a very cooperative picture taking mood! Here are some from the first day...

The next day you were all smiles: