5 Months Old

Where did my little baby go? He grew up already!

Alex is now 5 months old and the thought of introducing solid food is looming. We are holding out for the 6 month mark as recommended by our health care nurse and maybe we will make it to 6 months before we start solids. While Alex is not driving us crazy for something more than milk we will hold off. It seems right for us so far.

So my little man is growing - he seems to weigh a ton now! He wants to sit up and even sitting up isn't good enough for him and when you hold his hands and pull him up into a sitting position, he straightens his legs and pushes himself into a standing position and boy is he excited with himself when he does that! He smiles and laughs and stands straight and tall for as long as he can. hehe He is terribly ticklish around his neck and upper chest and giggles uncontrollably when you try to wipe up dribbles.

He can pick up a toy all by himself now and can pick up his favorite toy out of a pile of toys. He can rotate a teething ring to position it so he can put it in his mouth and gnaw on it. He can pass a toy from one hand to the other. He wants to hold the bottle himself now and gets annoyed if we put the dummy in his mouth - he spits it out and picks it up and puts it in himself - only then is he happy. He can see us from across the room and gets excited when he sees us. He rolls over beautifully and is beginning to get the idea of pushing himself up with his hands - he is pretty lazy about that though so far.

He is gorgeous and I love every little hair on his head (even the one hair that is much longer than all the rest - what is with that?).

I snapped this picture yesterday of Alex with his Daddy - I love it. We love him so very much.


Here is Alex in his Jolly Jumper. He is still getting used to it but once he does he loves bouncing around. And here is my little 5 month old boy. Wow. He is not a baby any more is he. He is such a little boy now.
I realised something this morning. I was watching a show on tv and the daughter asked her mum "did you learn about being a mum from your mum?" and at first I thought "I wish my Mum was here to teach me about being a mother" but then I realised - she already taught me about being a Mum. She taught me how to unconditionally love my child. She taught me to make my child my whole life. She taught me how to love my child as well as my husband and how to have a happy family. She taught me to speak softly to my child, even when he is distressed, that even when I am angry and he is fussy, that talking to him in a calm voice calms us both.

So even though she isn't here. Even though every day I miss her even more. Even though I cry every day at not being able to hug my Mum. Even then - she left me with a legacy that cannot be ignored. She taught me how to be a Mum. and I was taught by one of the best.

Thanks Mum.