Milestone: 6 Months

The little one is continuing to grow (albeit slowly) and interact with the world around him. His day consists of going outside to the park or the college next door at least 3x a day, morning alone time with daddy, evening alone time with mommy, crawling along a comforter we've laid out in the living room, playing in the exersaucer and activity mat, banging his activity box, reading books, singing, his bath ritual, and of course, eating and napping.

We had a doctor's visit at 5 1/2 months and he weighed in at 14 .4 lbs. He's still on the small side but he has had no problem excelling at the typical milestones. He had his second set of vaccinations at this last visit and his reaction was much better than the first time. He cried immediately after the 3 vaccinations but calmed down rather quickly. When we left the doctor's office shortly thereafter, he was quietly observing the trees and cars outside. We decided to walk home since he is so enamored by the outside world and he fell asleep before we reached home and napped for the next 2 hours. He didn't have a temperature or any grouchiness. Good boy!

He's using his hands to reach (or lunge) for objects. He reaches for toys in his path or at my hair and glasses. My husband just bought an extra pair of glasses because one set is sure to get destroyed. He has a keen interest in taking newspapers or magazines out of your hands and ripping up the pages.

The little one is crawling with a purpose. Before he was balancing on his hands and knees and lunging forward because he had not figured out how to move the two in sync with each other. Now, he is slowly moving his right arm when he moves his left knee and left arm with his right knee. Thus, he is face planting less, which is a relief. So, he is officially crawling at 6 months. He is determined to make a break for our TV stand.

He loves to verbalize his thoughts. He's "reading" aloud with me and "singing" with me. He has a lot to say and sometimes he will scream (ah, the piercing scream) to get it out. He loves listening to Hindi music with my mom. I've compiled a selection of highly recommended board books and baby nursery rhymes. My husband thinks I should write a children's book because they're so simple. I realize there's a lot involved in publishing, but seriously, some pages don't even have words on them!

He is seeing the world with a new perspective. He's sitting up while balancing himself with one arm. At moments, he sits up without support. I imagine this is an eye-opener compared to lying flat on one's back at all times.

He's learning to eat and drink like a little man. Luckily, my mom had taught him to drink water out of a spoon so we did not have to train him on using a spoon for food. Yesterday, we started solid foods with mashed sweet potato. He made a face to show how disgusting he thought it was. Somehow, my mom got him to eat a good amount. He didn't seem tolike it any more on day 2, but he ate enough. We haven't seen a rash or bad reaction so we're looking to move on to carrots after one more day of sweet potatoes. Also, I introduced water in a sippy cup before 5 months and these days, he's drinking water out of his sippy cup and a glass.

And, no, he is not yet sleeping through the night. We need to tackle that one next week because my husband's mother is coming into town this week.

Milestone: 5 Months

Everything your child does is a milestone as a first time mom and I don't want to forget any of the monumental stages of development that my son is undergoing. While we were on vacation in Cape Cod, my son reached the 5 month mark and this is a good point for me to start recording what is happening in his life. When I think about it, I should have started sooner because there is so much to detail. I'd hate to look back when my son (hopefully) has kids and not remember anything.

• He loves people. He will go to anyone and enjoys studying people's faces. The other day he was on the brink of a breakdown because he doesn't like sitting in the stroller and not being able to look around. I took him out just as we entered the park and he went silent because he was excited to see the people everywhere. Even if his diaper is wet, he will not make a peep while we are outside because he is busy people watching.

• Since he turned one month, I've been giving him an oil massage every day before bath time. I think this has helped his legs grow strong and helped with his umbilical hernia. He enjoys his bath routine. If he's crying and I start his massage, he gets quiet immediately and then gets excited when I pick him up to carry him to the bathtub.

• He has the cutest little laugh. He started laughing - a true laugh, not the squeal he's had for the last few months - the week before we left for vacation. It's such a great joy figuring out new ways to make him laugh. The Superman hold works, as well as, games of peek-a-boo. It cracks him up when I look away from him, then turn back around and act shocked that he's there.

• He flipped over from his back to the stomach at 5 weeks and then took another few weeks before he did it again and consistently. It's adorable to watch him clasp his hands and throw his legs to one side to gain the momentum to flip over. It took a week or so for him to learn to pull out the left arm from underneath his body. At first, he always went to his left side so I when I needed to block him, I would put a soft toy to his left. At this point, he flips over every single time we place him on his back and he'll go in either direction. While we were on vacation, he learned to flip from back to front to the back again. This has become an adventure.

• He is crawling, mostly by propelling himself with his legs. This began at about 4 months, 2 weeks. He has very strong legs and uses them to power his way across the bed. He's now learning to swing his arms to help him move but has not completely put it all together. Now, I must watch him constantly because he immediately flips around and is on the move. There is a point where he falls from his knees into an almost sitting up position. He's trying to sit up andthat may be the next thing he does.
  

• He has been extremely verbal from the start. I think this is because my mom talks to him all day long. He squeals, babbles, talks to animal decals on his wall, chats on the phone with his grandfather, etc. Of course, there is also the spontaneous screaming for no reason that started at the 4 month mark. That was no so nice but has now subsided.

• He had started playing with his toes and he got his toes into his mouth while we were on the Cape. That is a site to see.

• He is a ridiculously light sleeper. He hears every little noise and has not been a good napper because of this. We're slowly training him to take good afternoon naps in his cribs and just this week we had noise reduction windows installed to cut out the loud street noise. We're happy if he makes it an hour. Sometimes, he wakes up crying and in great distress. I think he has bad dreams or hears a noise that disturbs his slumber. He sleeps okay at night though he still wakes up to eat a a couple of times. He will have one 4-5 hour stretch and then a 3 hour stretch. Sometimes he wakes up at 6AM and stays awake, which is rough. We're trying to get him on a 7AM schedule. At night, we'd like him to fall asleep between 7-7:30PM, but he's more toward 8:30PM for now.

• At 4 and a half months, I introduced him to water in a sippy cup. My mom has gotten him to drink out of a glass and a spoon, too. He grips the cup (or glass or bottle) with both hands and pulls toward his mouth when he wants to drink and pushes away when he's had enough. The week after vacation, I started him on rice cereal mixed with breast milk.
  

• This week he's begun using his hands more and reaches out with an open hand toward my face. He likes to feel my face and grab my mouth as I'm talking. This is adorable.

There are so many more things now that I think about it. I should be keeping track more regularly.