Monkeys in May

I have been wanting to write my own post about how Brooks is doing at 5 months, he beat me to it before;)

I cannot believe it's been 5 months since this little man came into our lives. It's crazy how big he is getting! He is SO sweet, he loves to snuggle! This is both of our favorite time-when he falls peacefully asleep in my arms♥

Brooks loves to play-he loves his duckie, his little blue monkey that rattles, his dog that talks, laying on his play mat and kicking while watching his toys, and he still gets so excited about his mobile with animals. His favorite play time is with his family! He smiles and coos at us and it is seriously the most precious thing. Melts my heart every time.

We had an Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy session scheduled last week and we went to the OT appointment, but she thought it would be better if he were seen by a home based program that services kids 0-3 years. So we skipped our PT appointment and set up a time for the coordinator to come out to get Brooks registered and scheduled for in home therapy evaluations. We are scheduled May 20th with PT, OT and a Developmental Therapist. I'm anxious to see what they have to say. His legs are strong, but his upper body tone is very low. He is holding his head up better, but still a bobble head as Brennan calls him;)

We had a pediatrician appointment Thursday-he got his 4 month shots:( He actually did pretty good, especially for him;) He was 11lb 4oz so he is still gaining in the 5-7oz/week range. The doctor asked if I had talked at his NICU follow up about his formula since he is still on the higher calorie, but I didn't even ask because he is still so little. His pedi said there is debate on how long to keep them on it, but he obviously still needs it and said he would stay on it until his weight "takes off" Well, Brennan was on it the whole first year because he never really took and I'm thinking Brooks will be the same way. Which is fine, as long as he is getting what he needs. We have just been ordering online, as hard as it was to get in the beginning in stores-it's even harder now! We will try to hunt some down if we have a coupon check, otherwise it's not worth it. I buy 2-3 months at a time and we're good. The doctor said we could start food anytime, but I'm going to wait, probably at least a couple more months. He is getting close to 4oz about every 3 hours. He has been sleeping longer at night, but mostly because he has been awake longer in the evenings during his fussy time. I had a hard time describing his behavior to the pediatrician because he isn't really consistent. I knew he was still refluxing because I could see it, but when I would see it, it didn't necessarily bother him then. But he was still so fussy. He had happy times, but would go back and forth with the bottle, didn't want to go to sleep and I was really trying to avoid medicine especially because I wasn't convinced it was the reflux causing his fussiness. After talking to the doctor, he didn't think it seemed consistent with reflux either, but we decided to try the medicine since we know he has it and I think it's working after just a few days. This weekend was the best weekend we have ever had and this evening he was SO happy and playful. Usually he is fussy and we are rocking him or trying to console him all evening. Hopefully this continues, I always feel so bad for him because he has had such a hard time and now I regret not trying the medicine sooner. I am a nurse so I'm not against medicine, but I really try to avoid it if possible. Even tylenol, I will have Brennan try everything else for a headache before I give him tylenol. I'm the same way with myself. Anyway, I am glad to have my happy baby all the time and I hope it stays this way!

Here is snuggling with Uncle Vance-so sweet!

We have been trying to keep Brennan busy on the weekends, he always has fun ideas! This is a Wild Kratts costume we made a couple of weeks ago. Brennan loves animals and Wild Kratts is an educational show about animals and he really enjoys learning about the different animals.

I try to teach Brennan about eating healthy and making good food choices. We try to do fun stuff with health foods-here is his fruit and yogurt parfait:) He is playing soccer on Tuesdays and really enjoys it, but his most favorite thing to do right now is ride his bike! He got the hang of it without training wheels a few months ago and it's just about all he wants to do. He is begging for a bigger one-his is small and he wants one with a kickstand:)

This weekend he got to ride daddy's new lawn mower. He was so excited! He didn't cut grass, but he pulled a cart behind it that carries brush when Casey cleans up the yard. He can't wait for school to be out! He really likes school and does well, but he is ready for a break. I can't believe how old he is seeming lately. It's so crazy like life is just flying by. He is such a sweet boy and so much fun to be around. Yesterday, we got to go biking at the bike trail near our house and we just rode and talked the whole time, it was so wonderful♥