Five Months

My sweet baby boy,

It was a big month for you, dominated by our family trip to Mexico -- it only lasted 9 days, but the planning and anticipation, then the recovery, seemed to take up the rest of the month. Beyond that, the month was pretty uneventful.

As has always been the case, you are a much more pleasant boy when you sleep well, so keeping your sleep consistent is key every month. And this month was definitely inconsistent. You started getting cranky earlier in the morning, so I started putting you down earlier. Your afternoon nap got worse for a bit, then better again. You also started waking during the night again and refusing to go back to sleep. After a few nights, we tried letting you cry it out for fifteen minutes. You fell back asleep after fourteen. And that was the last night you woke up for no reason (though you have woken yourself up pooping a few times since).

On to Mexico. We were incredibly nervous about you and the trip. It was your first trip on a plane, and our friends who we were visiting don't have kids so they didn't have any kid stuff. You had never napped well (okay, at all) unless in your swing. And we have relied on your bouncy seat to keep you occupied while we ate for some time now. So we were super anxious. Or, better phrased, I was super anxious. I kept telling myself that the worse I thought it would be, the more pleasantly surprised I'd be when things were only somewhat awful -- managing my expectations, as it was. But everything went far better than could possibly be expected.


You were a rockstar on the plane. Even though we woke you up at 4:30 to go to the airport. On the first leg, you alternated between sleeping and eating. On the second, you did both those things, but you also tried to eat Daddy's Fritos and spent a lot of time laughing, mostly at your stuffed lamb, who seems to be your new favorite. You then showed off your big gummy smile in the line at Immigration, smiling at every person we passed as we snaked our way through. I like to think you made the experience a little better for everyone. And you were rewarded with your first passport stamp!

In Mexico, you saw the ocean for the first time -- oddly, you ended up seeing the Pacific before the Atlantic, even though we aren't far from the ocean at home. We spent most afternoons on the beach, which meant you spent most afternoons sleeping while one of us held you. Apparently, you find the waves soothing.

The water, not so much. You were terrified the first time your feet were dipped in, but I think you were just tired, as you fell asleep moments after your feet were taken out of the waves. (You also went in a swimming pool for the first time. Again, you didn't seem to like it at first, but adjusted fairly quickly -- it was a bit cold, so I don't blame you for being less than psyched.) By the end of the week, you at least seemed indifferent. I hope you keep trending in that direction. Your dad and I both love the beach, and while we both love sitting on the beach reading or playing beach games, our true love is of the ocean itself -- swimming, snorkeling, checking out tidepools -- we even tried surfing the last time we were in Mexico. I hope you will eventually share that love. Otherwise, you may be spending a lot of your childhood sitting on the beach by yourself while we enjoy the water :)

And our fears regarding napping proved unnecessary. The first day, we changed your diaper, put you in your sleep sack, and read you a story. Then we put you in the Pack N Play with your blankie. And you slept. For forty-five minutes. We did the same thing the next day, and you slept for two hours, as you did every morning for the rest of the week. (Afternoon naps ended up being in our arms on the beach, covered in sunscreen, wearing UV-protective clothing, and under an umbrella.)

Sadly, it has proven difficult to keep this going at home. The first three days we were home, you wouldn't nap for more than forty-five minutes, and your second nap was even shorter. Yesterday afternoon, I realized that I'd read the same story every day on vacation but hadn't gotten that out of my backpack since we got home. So I got it out. And you slept for two hours. And you've been napping better since. Apparently, you need to hear Kiss Goodnight before a nap. And I'm totally fine with that.

After months and months of torture, you seems to have decided that you rather like tummy time, at least for five to ten minutes at a time. You have figured out that you can reach and play with toys while on your stomach, which seems to make it more palatable. You love to push up on your hands, looking around and laughing. But you don't love it enough to want to do it on purpose.

On that note, you haven't started doing a ton of new things this month. You started blowing raspberries and seem to love doing so often. And you found your feet, of which you seem to be a big fan. But you still can't sit up for more than twenty seconds at a time, and you still only roll from front to back. But I'm totally okay with that -- I'm in no rush for you to grow up any faster than whatever pace you set for yourself.

This month has seen some of your personality begin to emerge. You seem to be very people-oriented and, specifically, very attuned to the feelings of others. You smile at anyone who smiles at you -- a giant gummy grin that causes everyone to remark on how cute and sweet you are. I'm a little worried your going to get a big head from all the compliments. On the flip side, you cry instantly and ceaselessly the second you hear another baby so much as wimper. Even when they stop, it's tough to convince you that they're really okay, that their needs have been attended to, that you can stop crying. You also love to hold hands with other babies. And that's really sweet. Oh, and you seem to think your stuffed bear is another baby, as you love to hold his hand too.


Harry, I can't begin to tell you how much I love you. You are such an amazing little boy, so sweet and silly and full of joy. And even when you're not, I love you all the same. Every night when I'm getting you ready for bed I spend a couple of minutes telling you how much I love you, how I'll always love you, no matter what. I know you won't remember it, but I hope you will know it all the same. I love you, with all my heart.

Love,

Mommy