So what’s changed in a month? So much stuff! It’s unbelievable. This morning I was giving my little AddyLane a bath and she was splashing around, staring and smiling up at me, all signs of my helpless newborn gone, and it hit me like a ton of bricks how fast she’s growing up. Every day is one I can’t get back. I mean, I love the progression, the change. I love watching her learn new things every day. But I don’t want to take it for granted. I want to remember. So, here are some of the new things that have happened this month and some of the ways that our “typical day” has changed, so I can remember.
Bibs and Thumbs
The slobber monster has emerged. There are no more dry-faced babies in this house. She’s my little drool pot. Bibs are now standard apparel. Otherwise Adela ends up soaked to the skin. The constant drooling might have something to do with the hand that is constantly in her mouth. One of the reasons we decided not to take her binky away was preemptive effort to avoid thumb-sucking (easier to throw away a binky than a thumb, and all that). It’s not working. She spits the binky out and puts her fist in her mouth. In the past 2 or 3 days, she has figured out how to make her thumb protrude from her fist and has been succeeding in getting that specific digit into her mouth. We try to replace it with a binky, but it usually doesn’t work. I’m not sure we’re going to be able to stop her from developing that cute-for-now-hard-to-break habit. Sigh. We’ve also tried giving her toys to chew on, but so far she doesn’t hold on to objects very well. I also give her my fingers to chew on which she loves. She will sit slack-jawed in my lap while I massage her gums.
Bottles
I wasn’t ready for it, but it happened. My mom babysat for us last week while we went and saw Shutter Island at the theatre 3 minutes away from her house. I gave her an emergency stash of breast milk for the freezer a couple months ago. Apparently there was an emergency because said stash was no more when I returned 2.5 hours later to pick up my daughter who was contentedly sucking on her thumb on her Papi’s (Grandpa McIntire) lap watching hockey. So, we’re over that hump. Addy has had a bottle. But just the one so far and it’s still going to be the exception, not the rule.
Sleepy Time
My little girl is growing up. She is almost on something that resembles a schedule! Wow, I didn’t think it would ever be possible. Things were so chaotic for the first couple of months. But with a few exceptions she has somewhat of a routine that she follows. She usually gets fed for the last time at about 9:30pm and goes down for the night in the playyard by our bed. She wakes up around 3:00am for a feeding after which she goes back to the playyard, then she wakes again between 5:30am-6:00am for another feeding. Then she sleeps fitfully wherever she happens to be, either in bed with me or in the boppy in the office if Daddy is home, until about 9:00am. Then she has a wakeful period until about 10:30am. I feed her again when I notice her start rubbing her eyes, then put her down in her crib in her room while she’s still awake but sleepy. She will usually stay in her crib content and mostly asleep (with a few visits from Momma or Daddy to replace binky) until after 12:00pm.
(ASIDE: I thought the crib would be a big deal, that she would hate it and fight being in there, but she honestly loves it. She is mesmerized by her mobile. Those toy designers know what they’re doing. I was surprised just how much she enjoys looking at it. It’s fascinating to her. We haven’t tried the crib at night time yet and don’t plan on it for a while, but it’s nice to know that she’s at least getting used to her room and her crib so that hopefully when that night comes, we’ll be a little more prepared.)
Her next sleep period varies from late afternoon to early evening. I usually put her in her swing when she’s been fed and seems content and sleepy, and she will usually fall asleep and stay asleep for a 3 to 4 hour period. She loves the magic swing. It’s a life-saver. I have TIME in the afternoon again for doing laundry or making dinner or whatever. It’s great. She takes little cat naps here and there throughout the day too, but that’s the basic sleep schedule that has been emerging lately. There are exceptions of course, but usually it’s very doable. We’ll see how long it lasts.
Baby Signing
We’ve started learning Sign Language. It’s obviously too soon for her to actually sign, but we want to start early so that by the time she is physically able to sign, she will already be familiar with a variety of signs. Plus parents need time to learn too, with our old brains and all. They say that babies as young as 6 months can do basic signs, so we have 3 months to prep her! So far the signs I use the most are “milk” and “eat” when I feed her, “more” when I give her the other side, “all done” when we’re finished with a feeding or after a diaper change, “water” when I give her a bath, “Mom,” “Dad,” “Grandma,” and “Grandpa,” plus a variety of animals. I find it pretty fascinating just how easy it is to pick up on the signs. They mostly make a lot of sense and are very easy to remember. I’m enjoying it.
Oh and fyi, the nutshell version of why we’re teaching her how to sign is that it’s proven that babies communicate with gestures before they can communicate verbally. Studies have shown that when you gives kids the ability to tell you what they need with signs, they fuss less, throw less tantrums, and are in general more pleasant and well-adjusted because they don’t have to cry and fuss and scream to tell you they need something. They can actually show you. There is also some evidence that babies who sign might actually talk sooner than their non-signing counterparts.
Also, we’re using Signing Time which is real American Sign Language rather than Baby Signs which is a made-up language.
New Noises
Every day brings new noises. It seems like it took longer for Adela to start her baby talk than most of the books guessed. It wasn’t until maybe last week that she really started making distinct vowel sounds. Now that it’s clicked for her, she’s become quite the little talker. Her favorite is oooo, oooo, oooo, like a little owl. But she’s also making “ahhh” and “ehhh” and “iiii” sounds. It sounds like she’s saying “hi,” as a recent video we took can attest. She’s also squealing and screaming, not the crying kind, the “in delight” kind. She’s also razzing. So many noises. I am constantly giggling at her. It’s great.
She’s still working on her laugh. We’ve heard it very distinctly twice. The first time I was changing her diaper and tickling her. The second time she was just hanging out with us in bed. She *tries* to laugh constantly, but it seems as though she hasn’t quite figured out the right sound. Most of the time she “coughs” when she’s really happy. She’ll get this big grin on her face, kick her legs, throw her head back and give a great big belly…cough. She’s getting the hang of it though. It gets closer to a real laugh every day.
Bumbo
Adela has graduated to sitting in the Bumbo. It’s great for me because she can sit up and exercise her core muscles in a safe and hands-free (for me) way. Plus she has a great view from that angle and stays content watching me bake or whatever I happen to be doing until she gets tired.
Baby Muscles
Adela will now stay comfortably on her tummy, usually draped over the boppy for about 5 minutes at a time without fussing. Her arms and neck have gotten really strong. She’s really sturdy. She’ll also support her weight on her legs for up to 30seconds at time. And she’ll do it repeatedly. Both Craig and I spend time putting her in positions where she has to support her own weight at various times throughout the day. My Mom and Tia Carmen had her actually taking steps between them. It was kind of shocking to all of us just how strong she is. She was literally “walking,” putting one foot in front of the other while supporting her own weight, with them simply providing balance by placing their hands under her arms. Here’s a montage of some of her first assisted baby steps from a video I took.
That’s the update on the fascinating (to me at least) world of Adela Lane. I’m so lucky to be her Momma. This is the best job in the world. No joke. I can’t wait to see what else she does this month.
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