My Big Guy

My guy is five months today. I've not been so good about doing updates for him like I was for Makili. I feel badly about that, but in all honesty, there are plenty of days it is a miracle I can post anything at all. So let me fill you in on where Remick's is at.

He is big. At his last appointment a month ago he weighed over 18 pounds and was over 25 inches long. And he still has a big head, though not as big as his brother. A good portion of his weight seems to be concentrated in his thighs and his cheeks, which seem to stand out with chubb.

He's got the gross motor thing figured out. He's been sitting for almost six weeks. He is far more willing than Makili was at this age to be on his belly, and seriously makes me think he might crawl soon. He also has been threatening to roll over lately. He did it once to get a really shiny bag, but otherwise just sort of does it halfway. He also likes to stand and in particular bounce. He would probably love one of those doorway bouncer things - maybe I'll see if I can find a cheap one somewhere...

As for fine motor, he's definitely still working on that. He is SUPER grabby and spends most of his day grabbing stuff (like my hair - ouch!), but isn't super good at tracking something that he is holding, though he is getting better every day. He sticks his hands in his mouth constantly, and occasionally will stick an object in his mouth, but definitely doesn't do this as a rule. I'm hopeful that he'll be like Makili and not be too into putting things in his mouth.

He still sleeps like crap, waking up every 45 minutes to 2 hours all night. Raph and I typically take shifts putting his plug (pacifier) back in, since most of the time that is all that he wants. He doesn't like a dirty diaper at night either though, so sometimes that is the cause of the fuss. During the day, he is a reliable napper, and most days I can get him to nap at the same time as Makili so that I can have a few minutes to get dinner made or blog.

He LOVES music. We noticed this from birth, but now that he goes with us to Makili's music class it is even more evident. He is completely transfixed for much of music class, though he often shrieks with excitement and flaps his arms. He flaps his arms a lot actually, when he's excited or mad. When he is really unhappy, we can often turn music on and he'll calm down. He doesn't like loud noises or being yelled at (like when Makili yells at him to stop crying in the car). Typically these things make him cry or cry harder. Sometimes he cries if Makili is crying.

Between his cat naps, Remick is a pretty happy guy. He smiles at everyone and is generally very amiable. He LOVES his brother and sometimes his whole face will light up when he hasn't seen him in a while. Makili gives Remick LOTS of attention. I probably say "space in the face" a hundred times a day. But Remick handles it quite well. Most of the time he likes it in fact.

All of sudden, Remick has been needing constant entertainment. He wants to be on the go all the time. Putting him on the floor with toys is out of the question sometimes. I wonder what has changed in his brain.

We've become pretty cozy in our little family unit. I feel very fortunate to be home with my boys and watch them grow, even if I also feel frazzled and stressed a lot of the time too. It is a hard job to be a stay-at-home mom. I like it though, and feel lucky to have the chance to play this role.