She's still nursing about four times a day, and snacking on anything we give her. Save for sushi and peanut butter, she pretty much eats what we eat (with the caveat that we don't have red meat in our house). This month we broke some rules and introduced strawberries, pineapple, tomato and chocolate. She enjoyed all of them. She now crawls over to the kitchen table and tries to climb up to her chair when she wants food. She's a machine. Taking big drinks of water out of her sippy cup and then throwing it across the room when she's done as though she's just won a water-drinking competition -- is one of my favorite things that she does right now. Also, the "drop something and Mom will pick it up, then repeat" game has set in. I'm not a fan. We also love graham crackers.
We started brushing her teeth [mostly gums] this month. She loves it. We have one of those little soft silicone brushes that you put on your finger and bubble-gum flavored baby Orajel toothpaste. She bites it a lot but I am able to give the teeth and gums a good scrubbing I think, with no fighting from her. I should have done this when her bottom teeth came in a while back but hey, at least I started when her top teeth started coming on. Go ahead... judge me...
The jibber jabber that comes from her mouth is SO FUN. She knows she's silly and she knows it's fun and she chooses to interact with us in silly ways. I love this. We are a family that welcomes silliness of all kinds. She's also desperately trying to say words. Sometimes she holds her breath in intense concentration to get one syllable out. It's all still babbles, but we like to pretend she's saying words like Indigo. Tickle. Pickle. Asiago. Sick' em. Diddle. Piddle. Okay. Pico de Gallo. Hey You! Hiya! Adieu. She is getting really close to actually using correctly the words "Dada," "Ball," "Hi / Hey," "Yeah," and "Dog." "Mama" is not even in the running.
Putting things in containers and taking them back out is the favorite play activity as of late. I have a giant "bucket" (actually an empty Costco pretzel container) that I put toys into for her to retrieve and play with. She likes her toys and books much better when she takes them out of a container all by herself in order to play with them. Peek-a-boo above and below the coffee table is another game we play. I'm thinking one of these days she is going to surprise me and actually say the word "boo!" but she hasn't yet.
She doesn't wear shoes yet. Ever. I'm pretty sure "barefoot til age one" is not recommended. Or is it? I just don't want to make her wear any. I'm preparing for the worst when she absolutely must start wearing them.
Changing her diaper is nearly impossible most instances. She flips, she screams, she kicks, she puts her hands in her private parts, she squirms, she cries in agony. So far my only consistently successful solution is singing "This is a Song About Elmo" by Adam Sandler. Suggestions welcome.
We've prioritized a remodel of our tv/entertainment area because she has officially become a hazard to it, and it to her. I cringe at projects like this, but Dan was right, it must be done. As he secretly smirks that he finally gets to mount the tv the way he's always wanted to. I'm crossing my fingers that this localized demolition and construction will be complete before he officially starts his new job after the holiday weekend.
Daddy puts her to bed every night. It's his special time. I get to listen to his soft a'cappella renditions of 80's worship music through the baby monitor. Did someone say Twila Paris?
She sleeps not quite the little kid schedule that we would aspire to (babies sleeping 12 hours a night, could you please send some sleepies this way?) but it's better than newborn hours of yesteryear. I'd say we're at sixth-grader hours, a typical night going to sleep at 9:30pm and waking up at 7:00am the next day. I'll take it.
She sleeps not quite the little kid schedule that we would aspire to (babies sleeping 12 hours a night, could you please send some sleepies this way?) but it's better than newborn hours of yesteryear. I'd say we're at sixth-grader hours, a typical night going to sleep at 9:30pm and waking up at 7:00am the next day. I'll take it.
She's also [finally] settled napping in her crib on a daily basis. I said In Her Crib. Halle--can I get an Amen---lujah!
We took a chance and took her to a movie [Monsters University] for the first time in about six months. It was a late showing so we figured she would just conk out when it got dark. Boy were we wrong. She did end up falling asleep about two thirds of the way through the movie, but before that she had a little party in the seats. Bites of broken popcorn, climbing, babbling at other movie goers. It waa kind of a nightmare. We'll try again at an even later showing at a later date. Or continue to get a babysitter!
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When I'm changing Ryan's diaper I'll let him hold something I don't normally let him play with like his comb or my timer I use when I'm nursing. Otherwise he's all over the place just like Penny.
ReplyDeleteI totally stole your comb idea -- it's working great!! I let her have my hair comb or this one bangle bracelet now when I change her diaper and just after a few times she has learned to expect it and she stays still much better than before! Good work!
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