Benjamin: 5 months old

Nicknames:  Ben, Ben-Bo, Benjamin Kenjamin, Sleepykins, Hungrykins

Temperament:  Ben is so happy, cheerful, and social

Item/Toy we love the most:  orange giraffe, activity mat, lillebaby carrier

Item/Toy you love the most:  any toy you can grab, orange giraffe, activity mat animals, pacifier

Things we're loving most right now: seeing your fine motor skills emerge, your smiles and laughter, how you light up when you see one of us, how well you sleep

Things you're loving most right now:  using your hands, reaching for things, playing with Abigail, watching everything

Eating:  Ben is eating well overall and sending an extra small (3 oz) bottle for the afternoon has seemed to help during the week. So Ben is having two full size (5 oz) bottles and then the small one on days when he seems hungrier or I am later, so 3-4 days out of the week.  He is more easily distracted during nursing, and will pop off to socialize with me if I talk while he is eating, so we have tried to focus on having him eat in his room while it is quiet to minimize distraction.  He is not showing an interest in table food yet although he will sit with us in his red chair while we eat and watch us. We have given him an occasional piece of food to explore, like an apple slice or a piece of red pepper, and he has put it in his mouth, but didn't do much else to actually eat it.

Sleeping: Ben continues to sleep well and usually has one night wake up between 7:30 and 7 am, but occasionally had two wake ups right around the time he got his first tooth near the end of the month.  We continue to be thankful for his sleeping skills.  His naps at home continue to be long and fairly consistent but are often shorter and a little more unpredictable at school.  He will still nap on the go sometimes but often will wake up in a more loud or interesting setting. During thanksgiving, he was able to fall asleep swaddled in our bedroom and then stayed asleep while I held him and returned to the excitement so that helped the day go more smoothly!

Playing:  Ben is so social and playful now. He loves it when people talk to him and smile at him and quickly returns these actions.  He is getting so much better with his hands, grabbing toys easily and enthusiastically and quickly trying to put everything in his mouth. He learned to roll belly to back near the end of the month and seems proud of himself (and pleasantly surprised) when he successfully does so. We have just started having him sitting in the little red chair and he has been interested for short periods. He lets us know pretty clearly when he is done.

He continues to love watching Abigail who has learning to make alerting noises to get his attention. I suppose it is good for her trying to be aware of his interest level.  She still likes to sing and dance and is now trying to hand him toys and talk to him sweetly. She has been giving him his taggie blanket and praising him when he grabs the tags and tries to eat them, and she loves to echo all the little things I say to both of them.

Growth:
Ben is pretty solidly in 6 month clothes and seems to be getting longer.  He has one tooth through on his bottom gum and the next one should be coming through any day.