Liam and Gibson: Liam at Five Months

I've been meaning to write this post for about a week and a half now, but last week was so rough, and I'm just now getting time. So...here we go!

Liam turned five months old on Friday, October 14th, which was the day we traveled to Louisiana with Liam for the first time. I'm planning on writing a post about the trip, so no details here.

Since he only has a check up on even-numbered months, I don't have any stats for him. However, I estimate that he's about 18 pounds and around 28 inches long. He's wearing 6-9 month size clothes, and already outgrowing some labeled 6 months. But baby clothes sizes are labeled so erratically, that really doesn't mean anything. He is most definitely a big boy, but he's not fat (except for his cheeks and chunky thighs).

What he's up to these days:
Squealing...and lots of it, much to our dismay. I know he's just testing his lungs and finding his voice, but it's so loud. It especially bothers Will, who, for someone who loves rock music, doesn't like loud noises. The squealing can be cute, but too much is too much!

Rolling over from his back to his tummy...every single time we lay him on his back. He actually has been doing this for a good long while. It certainly showcases his strength, but he usually (although not always) just complains once he turns himself over. He finally turned himself over from his tummy to his back on Saturday, October 1st (so at 4.5 months old), but he hasn't made a habit of it yet. It's only happened a few times since then. If it's like when he started rolling from back to tummy, he'll do it a few random times, not do it for many weeks, and then start doing it all. the. time. So right now, we're in the "not do it for many weeks" phase on that. Liam has also started rolling on his tummy while he's sleeping at night. Unfortunately that usually means I get awoken by a scream in the middle of the night and have to turn him back over...and then he promptly does it again. Silly, silly boy.

Lots of giggles, lots of grins...he's a happy boy! He smiles all the time, and we love it! I think he has the sweetest face ever. He's getting better about smiling for the camera. I've caught a few smiles lately. His new thing is to smile at the camera when I hold it up, but by the time I take the picture, the smile is gone. Oh well, we'll get there. The giggles are coming much more easily these days. He's ticklish, so he giggles when we tickle under his chin, his armpits, and his ribs. He also giggles if I kiss his cheeks several times in a row and make loud smoochy sounds. He giggles when Will bounces him up and down on the couch. He giggles when I pretend like I'm going to drop him (but I'm not even close to doing so)...little daredevil. Giggles are the best!

Adjusting to life with the DOC Band...and a stinky head! Since I usually do separate posts about that, I won't say much here. He's now had it almost two weeks, though, and we're starting to see some improvement. His head hasn't grown any, though, so we won't see any big changes until he has a growth spurt.

Trying to sit up on his own...and not absolutely failing at it! He's not doing it yet, but he's getting close. He has sat up on his own for several seconds on a few occasions, and he's pretty good at tripoding (not sure if that's a word). I think he'll have it down in a few more weeks. I'm so proud of him!

Eating something other than formula...expanding his taste buds. He's been eating rice cereal for awhile, and does well with that. Tonight, we finally gave him "adult baby" food for the first time. Even though his pediatrician told me I could start him on solids back at four months, I haven't been in a huge rush to do so. Most of the parenting books I've skimmed (never read a whole one) say to not give them anything besides breastmilk or formula until 6 months anyway. What's the hurry? Anyway, we gave him carrots tonight...videotaped the first few bites like good parents. He seemed ok with it; certainly not love at first taste, but a decent start. We'll continue with carrots this week, and try something different next week...squash or sweet potatoes, perhaps.

Reaching out for things he wants...and getting frustrated if he can't get it. He likes to grab the toys on the bar of his bouncy seat and pull on them. Lately he has gotten so frustrated a few times when he can't pull them off. That's new. He's also now reaching out for toys he wants, or things like our faces. He loves to touch our faces, especially Will's. He also reaches out for his bottle now, grabs it, and puts it in his mouth. He hasn't quite figured out how to hold it up to get liquid out, though. I have no idea how other babies are, but I think Liam has really good hand/eye coordination for a five month old. At least I'm impressed by him...but maybe I'm just easily impressed (or a proud mommy!).