Five months old

The months just keep ticking by, with Nico now 5 months old (actually 5 1/2, seeing as it's taken me so long to post). I cuddle him and breathe in his babiness as often as I can, knowing that this stage will soon be over. With Leo, every age and event was new and exciting to us, and so we loved seeing him grow and change. With Nico, being our last child, we want it all to slow down a little and let us savor the moments, but he's not being cooperative and just keeps on growing at an alarming rate. In fact, the time seems to be going even faster than before. Oh well, it does have its upsides, getting to see what kind of boys my babies are turning into is a pleasure in of itself.

I guess the most important change this month is that his first tooth has come through. He has been a drooling mess for two months now, but it's paying off. The bottom right is through and the bottom left will appear over the next day or so. So, one down, nineteen baby teeth to go... sigh! I wish they didn't hurt him so much.

He eats a little real food at most mealtimes - applesauce, bananas, carrots, ceareal. He loves it all and eyes our food with genuine desire. He'll stare at your plate and follow the fork from the food to your mouth, with his mouth hanging open. I keep expecting him to use some Jedi mind trick to move the fork of his own volition, but so far we remain in control. His communication skills are improving because of his desire. He'll stare at his bowl or water cup and VIBRATE. When you ask him "water?" or "eat?" he'll break out in a huge grin and grunt until you give him the food.

We have now officially entered the "nothing is safe" part of babyhood. He grabs at EVERYTHING, and is coordinated enough to get it. Leo especially likes it when Nicky grabs him, his hair, his clothes (although not always so keen when he grabs his toys!). The two of them are really starting to play together, it's adorable, but potentially very annoying. For example, Leo likes to make him laugh, and does so at the table while Nico's eating, which results in food going everywhere. So, we have made a rule - no playing at the table, and Leo gets in trouble when he doesn't obey it. Leo finds it hard enough to resist, but Nico makes it a whole bunch worse by staring at him, waiting for his antics. When Leo is good and doesn't do anything, Nico squeals and flaps his arms up and down, which renders Leo helpless! We see years ahead of us of the two boys conspiring and ganging up against us.

His eyes are starting to change color. No longer the blue of his birth, but something in between that and brown. His hair, what little he has, is now turning blond. Everything just like his big brother. We've been looking at photos of Leo as a baby, and though not identical, you can tell without any doubt that they are brothers. I know lots of people say that Nico is fat, but actually Leo was just the same, surprisingly enough. He looks skinny now, but at Nico's age he was only 0.2kg lighter (and a little shorter). If anything, Leo's cheeks seemed fatter.

We've been leaving Nico without a diaper recently. He does most of his poops in the potty, but not his pees. With his diaper off we can learn his patterns and signs a lot better. We'll see how it goes.

Nico is very quick to laugh, just like Leo was. We notice that our family does a lot of laughing, and we hope that is the same for everyone.

For photos this month, click here.

Two months old

Nico is now two months old and is changing with each passing day.

He weighs almost 13 lbs (5.75kg) and is 22 1/2 " (56cm) long. Friends and family keep calling him fat and the poor little guy has developed bolemia - he'll eat and then puke it back up. I remember Leo as a baby never let a drop of milk, and later food, go to waste, but Nico is a very messy eater. He'll suck and then open his mouth to smile, letting half the milk dribble down his chin and me. I have learned to feed him with a rag under us, so we don't get too wet.

He is letting us sleep a lot better at night. His colicky stage is now almost totally over, so he doesn't wake to pain. He'll go between 4 and 5 hours between when we put him to bed and when he first wakes up to nurse, and those uninterrupted hours of sleep have done the world of good to the sleepy parents of a newborn. He's also going longer between feeds during the day than he did at first.

We have now entered the wonderful world of smiles and giggles. He is overall a very happy and calm baby. He's content to sit on his own for a long time watching the world go by without ever fussing. He laughs at Leo's constant attention, and doesn't flinch when his big brother runs around screaming and jumping. He coos and chatters, laughs and grins.

He has two types of cries - one signals pain, the other signals that he wants something. The first is generally linked to his stomach and is getting less frequent. Fortunately we have a secret weapon for his pain - we put him in a bath and all crying stops instantly. He LOVES the water, and I mean "he should have been a fish" loves the water (just like his mama). The second type of cry starts as a little on/off complaint, nothing very intrusive. He often gets picked up at this point (to nurse, to change his diaper or to be with the family, depending on the tone of his cry), but if he isn't, the cry gets a little more insistent, the final warning. And then he GETS MAD! He doesn't have the throbbing vein in his neck that Leo, and his uncle Augie, have, but that doesn't lessen the effect.

We haven't done too much diaper free with Nico. With Leo he used about one diaper a day for the first year (we then starting building and someone came up to play with him and Leo stopped asking to go to the toilet). Nico has done several pees in the potty, and even a couple of poops, but he struggles so much to poop that diaper free has been impractical. He'll start signals that he needs to go, but won't get it out for another half hour or more. We'll get more serious about that soon, now that his digestive system is maturing.

He is also getting a lot stronger. He loves to stand and even jump, and pushes up vigorously when he wants you to hold him upright. He locks his legs and can hold his weight for a little while. His head is also getting a lot stronger and he'll hold it upright for the most part. He likes to sit on the sofa like the rest of us and can stay there for a while, but if he starts to fall he can't yet correct himself.

He completely recognizes all three of us and has different associations for each. He grabs onto your T-Shirt and strokes you when you hold him. He seems extremely affectionate, just like his big brother.

All in all, a beautiful baby and the perfect completion to our family.

For photos of this month, click here.