On Saturday my little, itty, bitty, tiny baby turned five months old. Ok, he was little itty bitty and tiny for a while. You know, two or three weeks after he was born. Now he’s more big, bouncy and bonny!
Last week was not my best week ever for sleep. See, Thane has mastered the art of turning from back to front. “What” you ask “Does that have to do with sleep?” Well, see, it’s like this. Thane can turn over back to front, and front to back. This means he can now put together a chain of rollingoverage and actually roll across the room if you let him. “Still not relevant to sleeping!” you so rightly point out. Ok, Thane CAN roll over. What he cannot do is roll over intentionally to go somewhere he wants to go and do something he wants to do. He also (this is key) cannot roll over in both directions — he only rolls to his right. So what would happen is I would put him down — face up — in his crib. He would promptly roll over in such a way that his arm was sticking through the slats of the crib and he was totally uncomfortable. What do you do in those circumstances? Right. You call on mom to come rescue you.
The degree to which mom is patient about this is directly related to
a) whether it is currently 4 am
b) whether you did the same thing at 3 am
c) also 2 am
It seems to have improved in the last night or two. He’s promptly rolled over onto his belly and started snoozing. I’m not happy with this as it regards SIDS, but have lost the ability to control exactly where my child is when he’s not strapped in.
That, by itself, is a milestone.
In additional to rolling over like a wheel, Thane is attempting to crawl. Happily, he’s not successful yet. But he gets himself up on his hands and moves those feet for all he’s worth. Once he gets his butt up in the air, he’s going to be unstoppable.
He’s also at the very edge of sitting. If you put a toy in front of him, he can sit quite nicely, although he lacks the wisdom not to throw himself back or to the side. He has the strength for it, but I always have to create this cage of my hands so that I can catch him when he makes an errant move. I think he might have only a week or two until he starts sitting unsupported. He can actually sit himself up, too. Not all the way from lying down, but I’ve caught him sitting up straighter than intended in both his swing and his car seat.
I’m trying very hard not to think of how much babyproofing needs to be done when he gets mobile. I’ve blocked that stage out of my memory. It’s not the grownup stuff that’s the problem, it’s Grey’s 1000001 toys — the Matchbox cars and small green frogs and D20s that are strewn through the house. La la la! I’ll deal with that once it comes to pass….
Thane is doing pretty well on solids. When hungry, he’s a terrific eater. Nom nom nom. There is no problem getting the food INTO him. Getting the food OUT of him, well, that is still a work in progress. I’m keen on the solids, because he’s started to get harder to nurse. If there is any distraction at all, whatsoever, he is always interrupting his nursing to turn his head and look. I would object less if he, uh, opened his mouth before turning. Thane is even more distractable than Grey was at that age. He’ll look out a window 20 times instead of settling to nurse. He still dislikes noises that even approach loud, and will shoot me a reproving look if I talk at all while nursing.
He is, as I mentioned, big. His thighs are like ham-hocks, both in how they look and in how delicious they look. He’s quite tall, especially in the waist. I think (no drs. visit this month) that he may have passed the 17 pound mark. He’s into 6 – 9 month clothes, and wearing size 3 Pampers.
Thane has hit the “grab everything” phase. This is the time of life where you start wearing contacts, eschew dangly earrings and cut your hair. He’ll make a grab for your pizza, the spoon you’re attempting to feed him with, his brother’s toy, pretty much anything within arm’s reach. He plays quite nicely with his toys, which he’ll hold for a quite a while before tossing them away. We are entering the “throw the toy away and then cry because you don’t have the toy” phase, although I actually haven’t seen Thane upset because a toy was “removed” from him yet.
The best parts of Thane, however, are not necessarily his kissable head or squirmy little body. The best part of Thane is his brilliant, wonderful, joyous gummy smile. He is the smiliest baby, especially in the mornings. He is just SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU and SO DELIGHTED THAT YOU ARE CHANGING HIS DIAPER! He also loves to talk to you, making all sorts of silly baby sounds. He’ll talk to himself, happily, for quite a while in his crib when he wakes up. He is beautifully good-natured, most of the time, and loves to be in the middle of the action. When his father sings “You are my dear, my darling one” he will often interrupt even epic weeping to smile in appreciation for his dad. Thane has been a bit more fussy lately, but I think much of that has to do with a combination of digestive and sleep issues, which are hopefully resolving themselves. But even a fussy Thane is a really fun kid to have around.
In additional good news, I’m starting to see the benefits of having two. Grey is a very, very helpful big brother. He’s still extremely affectionate, often surprising us with some gentle and loving thing he wants to do for his brother. He gets upset when Thane cries (like in the car) and demands I make him happier. He gladly returns thrown toys to his brother. Yesterday there was this great moment while I was cooking and Grey was dancing for Thane and making him laugh. Grey calls him “Dane”. I hadn’t realized how hard the “th” sound was for the kids to hear and say. He also says ‘nank you’ — I don’t know if he even realizes he’s saying it incorrectly? Anyway, Dane isn’t a bad nickname either, if that’s what the other kids end up calling him. Although if he ends up being as tall and strong as he appears, the appellation “great” will surely be added.
It’s such a happy time with Thane. I’m finding his babyhood passing even faster than Grey’s did. With Grey I was always so eager for him to be hitting milestones early, etc. With Thane, I wouldn’t have minded a more deliberate tempo. I don’t really want him crawling by 6 months, or walking by 9. I wouldn’t mind having a sweet, snuggling baby for just a little longer. But he outpaces me. Babyhood is so fleeting, and he is diving headfirst into boyhood.
Ah well. I love Grey just the age and stage he is, too. And it’s a long time before Thane is Grey’s age. I suppose I should just enjoy life at the pace it happens!
My Truant Pen 