5 to 6 months report.

I can't make this anymore organized or clearer or interesting, sadly. It took too long to type up and now it's old news. I'm posting it anyway for those who are interested. I'll try to make his 7 month report shorter.

And, for those who aren't interested in reading this, I'll post photos in the next post. :)

Brian Takeshi Tanaka’s
5 & 6 Month Report
-January 7, 2012

5 months:

Weight: 6.5 kg

Height: 63.5 cm

6 months:

Weight: 7 kg

Height: 67 cm

Feeding/Nursing:

We started feeding Brian at 5 months. He showed signs of wanting to eat since 4 months, but I wanted to hold off till he was at least 5 or 6 months old.

Signs that showed me he was ready: He showed great interest in food by staring at the food we ate. He would feel left out at meal times and had to sit with us. He would try to grab our food, plates, and spoons/forks. He always notices when someone stuck something in their mouth to eat, even if it was a little snack.

The first food I properly prepared for him was graded pear. Next day was yogurt with mashed bananas. He loved them both!

In these two months he’s had:

Mostly yogurt and bananas

Corn soup (one of his favorites)

Chicken soup

Taste of ice-cream

Strawberries and yogurt (too sour)

Honey and yogurt (Note: Later I read that honey isn’t good for babies, so won’t feed him honey until he is older.)

Mashed potato

Tofu

Boiled carrots (which he didn’t like plain so I had mix it in with his yogurt and banana, which he then had no problem eating.)

Three strange dry, red splotches appear on his chin the day after he first ate tofu. It still appears off and on. I don’t know if tofu was the culprit, but in any case, next time I attempt to feed him tofu, I’ll keep an eye open.

As far as nursing goes, he’s very picky with which breast is given to him, and 95% of the time he wants the left side. There are times when I give him the right side, and he nurses for a short while, and then arches his back telling me he doesn’t want to be nursed. Then when I stand him up on my lap to “investigate the problem further”, he leans forward and nuzzles up against my left breast to nurse. Naughty naughty!

Physical Skills:

At 5 months we started propping him up in a sitting position surrounded with pillows. Now, he can sit on his own, but will fall forward onto his tummy when trying to get a toy in front of him.

One evening while Brian was watching Josh and I throw his favorite Mexican colored ball back and forth, he decided to give it a try and now he loves throwing balls, toys, and other things he can hold in his hand. (There are definite pros and cons to a child learning this. Ha!)

Education:

Josh watches a lot of children’s video clips with Brian and he loves it. He’ll sit and watch something for a good 30 minutes or more. He is really serious about his video time. His favorites are Baby Einstein-Mozart (we need to get more), and a few cute Christian animation clips and songs.

Brian enjoys playing with his toys. He now plays with his toys on his own for a good while. As long as I’m in the room he’ll be content to play on his own. If I leave he’ll make sure that I come back soon, or he’ll whimper and cry, telling me that he needs me. He’s such a sweetheart.

He really enjoys flash cards and books. He smiles and smiles when I make animal noises to go along with the picture card. When we go for walks and we spot different animals, he seems to recognize them when I make the noise and finds it very amusing. He smiles and breaths in deeply taking it all in.

Behavior:

I can definitely see that Gemini Brian has two sides to him. He’s got a serious, ‘I need my space’ side and a foolish, attention seeking side. When he’s serious he wants to play with his toys on his own, studies each toy carefully, and doesn’t find interruptions amusing. It’s not too often that he gets in his serious mood, but when he is…it’s very interesting to watch. For the most part, he’s very fun and happy. He smiles a lot and is friendly to most people.

He is such a big boy and it’s so interesting to watch him try to communicate with me using his body. He’s a real good communicator and has many fun face expressions.

He loves his daddy, and is always ready to laugh at the fun things Josh does. They are such a great pair!

Travel:

This month we went to see his grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins from November 20^th to December 8^th, while Josh was away in Nigata at driving school. That was loads of fun for both of us. He loved being carried around by his aunts and uncles and getting all that attention. My dad called him a Little Angel. Apparently, Brian is the first grandchild that likes my dad from the start. Ha! He said all the others were scared of him at first.

While we were away, Brian had strange sleeping problems. He’d wake up screaming and crying for God knows what! He wouldn’t nurse; he’d even push me away. Two nights when he did his whole screaming thing, he finally fell asleep but wouldn’t let me lie down, so I had to sit up on a couch the whole night. He did have a cold so it could have been his stuffy nose that was bothering him, but he had stuffy noses before and wouldn’t scream like that. So, I really don’t know, but it didn’t last for long. Thank God!

Other tidbits:

December 10^th we took down the crib because we weren’t using it. It was a hassle to wait untill he was completely asleep in order to put him down. Then wake up soon after to repeat the cycle, because he wouldn’t sleep long if he was sleeping alone.

There are nights when I wish he would sleep in his own crib, but most of the time it doesn’t bother me. He’s still small and cuddly. Some nights when I’m really tired, Josh takes Brian so I can sleep early, but as tired as I am, I realized, I’ve gotten so used to sleeping with him in my arms, so if he’s not there, something’s missing and I can’t go to sleep.

His favorites this month: Looking at fish and cats. Looking at the manger scene, Christmas tree, and Christmas lights. Listening to animal sounds.

He talks a whole lot more, and even sings to music. It’s so cute. I love it.

Crystal gave Brian water toys for Christmas. I once filled up a small container with water, and threw those toys in. He loved splashing, and tried grabbing the toys out of the water. After this water play, Brian has made a change and now he can’t wait to get into his bath tub, and even has a hard time getting out.

He had his first fever recently, but he seemed completely fine. He just slept a lot more than usual.