max's milestones

Compared with all the diary keeping and photographing I did of Ollie and his milestones, poor little Max is left deprived.  So in an effort to make up for some lost time, and given Max is now over 4 months old, I thought I should write down some of the many very sweet things Max does and the milestones he's reached so far.

It felt as though he smiled just days after he was born.  They say that a smile before 4 weeks of age is most likely to be wind, but not with Max.  He would gaze at his surroundings and every now and again hear my voice or look in my direction and smile.  I'm sure of it.

The chuckling followed soon after.  At about 10 weeks he started laughing at silly noises and faces, and he hasn't stopped since.  He's such a smiley, giggly little boy, so ticklish, especially at bath time when I'm getting him ready for his favourite part of the day and 'accidentally' brush his armpit with my little finger, boy that makes him chuckle.  And unlike Ollie, who was a bit more discerning with his affections, Max seems to smile at anyone who will smile back.

Ollie used to enjoy a good sleep during the day but was prone to catnapping.  Max is the same and will more often than not survive on a few little naps, rather than a long rest during the day.  That's ok, but it can make his day a long one.  Ollie was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, so 6 weeks came and went and little Max was still waking for a feed in the night.  I didn't (and still don't) mind; it's usually a quick feed and then back to sleep, and if I'm lucky, he might be alert enough to offer up one of his dazzling smiles, but sleepy enough to then drift away to sleep.  He mightn't do it consistently but since he was 9 weeks old, we've had many nights when Max has let me sleep until 7am after his dream feed at about 10pm.  To ask for more than that would be greedy.

Just lately, Max has started grabbing his feet and loves to wring his hands and kick, kick, kick his legs until his socks fall off!  At about 12 weeks, he found his toes and they have been more entertaining for him than any toy I can give him.  In fact, he seems to be frustrated more than anything else with toys and prefers a good long chat about his day with whoever will listen.  He loves to be held, just like his big brother and can go reasonably long periods without a sleep, as long as someone is giving him a big cuddle.

Max has lovely, dark brown, wild hair.  His brother did too but Ollie's fell out by the time he was about 3 months old.  It wasn't long before his 'real' hair followed, impossibly even more gorgeous than his baby hair.  Max's hair has stayed thick and fast and shows no signs of falling out like Ollie's did.  It's the one aspect of his appearance that most people comment on.  What wild hair!  He has long eyelashes, Will's nose, lips and brow beautiful big blue eyes, just like his brother's, quite the outcome given both Will and I have dark brown eyes.  To me, he looks just like a little Will, whereas Ollie at this age seemed to look more like me as a baby.  I guess they've followed our personalties too.  So far Max is a reasonably relaxed and carefree little boy, like his pa, whereas Ollie likes his routine and rhythm, like his mama.

Max has found his voice too.  He loves to chat, squeal and sing at the top of his voice.  It's not something you expect to hear from such a content, quiet little baby, but he can definitely make some noise.  It's a lovely sound, even when he's practising his highest shriek, and to me he sounds more and more like his brother every day.  Ollie might be a tough customer a lot of the time, but he's also a delight to be around and there are enough similarities between our two sons to know that we really are very lucky to have them in our hearts.