She can't quite crawl, yet. But if I put her on the floor, she doesn't stay in one place anymore. She can roll, pivot, and slither backwards, and she is starting to figure out how to put those things together to progress slowly, awkwardly towards her goal. Today it was a plastic bag with a paper envelope in it. It started out three feet away from her, at 180 degrees from the direction she was facing. She squirmed, twisted, and wiggled her way over to it, and five minutes later, I heard the telltale crinkle of plastic in her mouth. I resisted the urge to take it away from her right away. She was so triumphant. It was her prize, and she had crossed mountains to acquire it. She took the envelope out of the bag, and squirmed her way back to the spot where I had put her down. Eventually, she bit off a chunk of the envelope, and I had to take it away from her, but for a few fleeting moments, I was able to sit back and revel in her joy. To see the world from her perspective, full of interesting textures and things that make cool, crinkly sounds. The sheer joy of discovery, as those things suddenly become attainable, albeit through herculean effort.
I guess I should start baby-proofing the house.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Guessing Game
Can you guess what will happen when you decide you're too lazy to go all the way into the other room to change the baby's diaper, so you just go ahead and change her on the bed, just this once?
I'll give you a hint: It involves everybody squeezing onto one side of the bed for the rest of the night in order to avoid a rather substantial wet spot.
I'll give you a hint: It involves everybody squeezing onto one side of the bed for the rest of the night in order to avoid a rather substantial wet spot.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Eight Months Old!
Dear Valerie,
You are eight months old, now!
This month was pretty lousy. You were sick, I was sick, your dad was sick. You had your first course of antibiotics, and your poor little gastrointestinal system is still reeling from that. You've also been super-clingy, due in part to the sickness, and due in part to me being at work more than usual. For a baby, especially one who doesn't take naps on any kind of schedule, I must say that you have an uncanny sense of time. If I work one hour later than usual, you get antsy and fussy, and cling desperately to me as soon as I get home. It breaks a poor mama's heart, and I'm only working part-time! I honestly don't know how other moms work full-time.
One exciting thing that happened this month was that you learned how to roll over. You rolled over from your back to your front for the first "for-sure" time on March 8, and it quickly became one of your favorite pastimes. You haven't rolled over from your front to your back, yet, which I guess has to do with the fact that you have no real interest in being on your back. It's easier to play with your toys while you're on your front. It's funny, though, because I remember when you were really little and you didn't like tummy time at all, and I felt like I was doing something wrong. I guess you got the hang of it eventually.
You have recently expanded your vocabulary to include the letter "d", which means that you say "dada" fairly often in the course of your babbling. I don't know if you know what you're saying, but I love hearing your voice, and I love that it sounds like you're actually talking. I don't even mind too much that you stumbled on the letter "d" before the letter "m", although I probably would be more quick to call it real words if you were saying "mama". You definitely love how responsive we are to your "talking", however. You might not quite know what it means, but you know you're doing something that gets you lots of attention, and you love that, so you keep on making the "dada" noises.
All in all, though, I've got to admit that I'm happy that this month is over. It broke my heart to see you sick, and it was made even harder by the fact that I was too sick to really take care of you as well as I would have liked. To your credit, though, you were such a trooper through the whole thing. Even at your sickest point, you were still a laughing, friendly, beautiful baby. Your parents could learn a thing or two from you about joy. Thank you for being such a joy, Valerie.
Love,
Mama.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Seven Months Old!
Dear Valerie,
You are seven months old, now!
The seventh month of your life was very exciting and eventful and interesting and all kinds of things that I would like to do justice to with a quality monthly letter. But, if I wait any longer to write this letter, you will be eight months old, and all the new things that I meant to write about will be old news. It's amazing how quickly that happens.
We started this month with a trip to Canada. I could have sworn I wrote about our trip to Canada on my blog, but I don't see the entry there, so I guess it will get paperclipped into the middle of your birthday letter.
You had fun playing with your cousin April (and by "playing with", I mean "being crawled on top of by", but you did have fun!)
We bundled up in warm clothes and went to Winterlude (Ottawa's winter festival).
It was a fantastic trip, even if we did get caught in a nasty snowstorm on the way up and have to stay in a hotel for the night (your first hotel!). We had a nice visit with Grandma, and you got to eat your very first food. You LOVE eating real food. You have become the star attraction at every meal, as you explore new tastes and textures and maneuver things to your mouth with adorable determination.
While we were in Canada, April decided to give you something special to take home with you: her cold. You spent the next week or so completely miserable with a runny nose and a cough. I felt so bad for you. Then, one day, the cold was gone. Then, the next day (February 17, to be precise), I saw a tooth poking up through your bottom gum, on the left. Your Nana was on her way to pick up your PopPop from the airport, and I couldn't wait to show them your new tooth! I nursed you, and apparently there was magic in that milk, because when you were done nursing and I pried open your mouth to show Nana and PopPop your new tooth, there was another tooth poking up right beside it! (Pictures to come later in a "this is what baby teeth look like coming in over time" spread.)
So I guess we should thank April for the cold she gave you, because you seem to have used your body's leftover cold-fighting powers to cut your first teeth. That, or it was never a cold in the first place, it was just teething symptoms. That, or it was just a big coincidence, but how boring is that? Anyhow, long story short, you now have teeth, and I don't let you chew on my fingers anymore, because, man! It can really hurt!
You have become a very talkative baby. In addition to H's, you now say B's, P's, M's, and, most recently, L's. You're not really showing interest in baby signs at all, and I think it's because you are so focused on communicating verbally. You like to talk a lot. I have no idea where you would inherit a trait like that.
You've also become much more exploratory this month. You like to play with your toes, other people's toes, and, most often, other people's faces. You especially like grabbing my nose, trying to poke my eyes out, and holding my lips shut. Apparently, you think I talk too much. You're probably right. Your dad barely gets in a word in edgewise around here as it is, whatever is he going to do when he has both of us to compete with?
I know I have said something to this effect in almost every letter, but you sure are getting big! As of your six-month appointment, you were in the 95th percentile for height. You're too tall for almost all of your pants, but I have solved this problem by just pretending that you're wearing capris. My favorite outfit to put you in is a footed sleeper underneath a pair of overalls. Then, you look like you're wearing "real clothes" but I don't have to deal with socks that a) don't go up high enough to cover the gap under your capris, and b) fall off every 2.3 seconds. Plus, your "socks", "leggings", and "shirt" all match perfectly! That's more than I can say for what I'm wearing today.
You used to always sleep until I came home from work, but you have recently taken to waking up about an hour before I get home, so you can wait for me. When I walk in the door, you'll be sitting there on your daddy's knee, and you will turn around when I say "Hi" and flash me the biggest, brightest smile. Sometimes, you'll even say some variant of "Hi" back to me. When I come over to pick you up, you will reach out for me with your arms, and grab me around my neck, and bury your head in my shoulder. That first snuggle is the highlight of my day, and as exciting as solid food and teeth might be, that is the image I want to keep with me of your seventh month of life. Those eyes full of love, that smile full of joy, and those arms reaching up to communicate everything that you don't have the words for, yet. I love you, too, Valerie.
Love,
Mama.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Fun Things and Not Fun Things
So, Valerie's monthly letter is over a week late, now. I swear, I have some really good excuses this time.
Last weekend was the weekend of Fun Things. Friday night, we went to a Starbucks Grand Opening at my former manager's new store. I got to see a bunch of people I really miss seeing from my old store, and had a really nice time catching up. Saturday morning, we went to an absolutely, insanely huge thrift sale that was actually too big to really dig through properly. I went through the specialty tables, picked up a few little things, then hung out at the babywearing table unofficially demonstrating various carriers. I also found a gauze wrap for $7 to replace my stretchy wrap that Valerie is getting too big for.
Saturday night, I left Valerie with her daddy and her grandparents while I went to a friends' house to pretend I was in college for an evening. We ate take-out and played video games until the late, late hour of 10:30 p.m. Okay, so that part of me is not-so-college anymore, but my limitless attention span for Katamari Damacy remains unchanged.
Sunday, after church, I met up with a local mom at the Wegman's café for soup and a nice, long chat. Sunday night, we had dinner with Jer's grandparents.
Meanwhile, we were all catching colds. By Sunday night, Valerie was coughing like a 70-year-old smoker, with a nose that wouldn't stop running. We weren't about to let a little cold spoil our fun, however, so we went ahead with our plans to go to the Aquarium with my playgroup friends on Monday.
Valerie did really well at the Aquarium. She spent more than half the time happily asleep (in her new wrap!), but when she was awake, she loved looking at the big fish swimming right past our faces. For less than the cost of two visits, we bought an annual pass, so we will totally be going back there again! I forgot my camera in the car, but my friend Jess kindly took some pictures of us, which I hope she doesn't mind me posting one of them.
Monday night was our game night, which has moved from Wednesdays to accommodate work schedules, board meetings, and LOST. We hammered out our new story arc, which is full of political intrigue and could end in war. Fun stuff.
On Tuesday, I was finally concerned enough about Valerie's cough (and the horrible, hairbally throat noises that were now accompanying it) to call her pediatrician. He told me what I expected he would, that there is really nothing to worry about unless she's throwing up or running a fever. But at least I could stop feeling guilty every time I heard her sad, pathetic coughs.
On Wednesday morning, I wasn't feeling very well at work. I had some stomach cramps, but mostly, I was just feeling really worn down. Valerie wasn't sleeping at night, and she seems to have already learned that misery loves company. I called around to see if I could get someone to cover my Thursday shift. I wasn't feeling terribly sick, but I felt like I might get sick unless I took a day off. Unfortunately, no one was available to work for me, so I dragged my weary bones out of bed before the crack of dawn on Thursday. Before the first customer arrived, I discovered the cause of my stomach cramps. Without going in to further detail, I seem to have contracted the worst gastrointestinal virus I have ever had. Three of the babies from the Aquarium trip have it, too, as do three of their parents/caregivers. So, I'm guessing we picked it up at the Aquarium. Maybe we shouldn't have played the "lick a sick fish" game? I left work as soon as I could get a replacement in, and did not work Friday. I have been obsessively drinking water to avoid dehydration. I seem to be on the mend, now, and actually ate breakfast this morning. Now, I'm just completely exhausted, devoid of all energy, and back to dealing with obnoxious cold symptoms. Jeremy and Valerie both still have the cold, but have so far managed to avoid the GI virus. I'm praying they don't catch it. It's no fun. Besides, they're miserable enough with just the cold.
Anyhow, that's the long and the short of the fun and the not fun we have had this week. I realize, now, that in the time I wrote this, I could have written Valerie's monthly letter. Oh well. Hindsight being 20/20 and all that.
Last weekend was the weekend of Fun Things. Friday night, we went to a Starbucks Grand Opening at my former manager's new store. I got to see a bunch of people I really miss seeing from my old store, and had a really nice time catching up. Saturday morning, we went to an absolutely, insanely huge thrift sale that was actually too big to really dig through properly. I went through the specialty tables, picked up a few little things, then hung out at the babywearing table unofficially demonstrating various carriers. I also found a gauze wrap for $7 to replace my stretchy wrap that Valerie is getting too big for.
Saturday night, I left Valerie with her daddy and her grandparents while I went to a friends' house to pretend I was in college for an evening. We ate take-out and played video games until the late, late hour of 10:30 p.m. Okay, so that part of me is not-so-college anymore, but my limitless attention span for Katamari Damacy remains unchanged.
Sunday, after church, I met up with a local mom at the Wegman's café for soup and a nice, long chat. Sunday night, we had dinner with Jer's grandparents.
Meanwhile, we were all catching colds. By Sunday night, Valerie was coughing like a 70-year-old smoker, with a nose that wouldn't stop running. We weren't about to let a little cold spoil our fun, however, so we went ahead with our plans to go to the Aquarium with my playgroup friends on Monday.
Valerie did really well at the Aquarium. She spent more than half the time happily asleep (in her new wrap!), but when she was awake, she loved looking at the big fish swimming right past our faces. For less than the cost of two visits, we bought an annual pass, so we will totally be going back there again! I forgot my camera in the car, but my friend Jess kindly took some pictures of us, which I hope she doesn't mind me posting one of them.
Monday night was our game night, which has moved from Wednesdays to accommodate work schedules, board meetings, and LOST. We hammered out our new story arc, which is full of political intrigue and could end in war. Fun stuff.
On Tuesday, I was finally concerned enough about Valerie's cough (and the horrible, hairbally throat noises that were now accompanying it) to call her pediatrician. He told me what I expected he would, that there is really nothing to worry about unless she's throwing up or running a fever. But at least I could stop feeling guilty every time I heard her sad, pathetic coughs.
On Wednesday morning, I wasn't feeling very well at work. I had some stomach cramps, but mostly, I was just feeling really worn down. Valerie wasn't sleeping at night, and she seems to have already learned that misery loves company. I called around to see if I could get someone to cover my Thursday shift. I wasn't feeling terribly sick, but I felt like I might get sick unless I took a day off. Unfortunately, no one was available to work for me, so I dragged my weary bones out of bed before the crack of dawn on Thursday. Before the first customer arrived, I discovered the cause of my stomach cramps. Without going in to further detail, I seem to have contracted the worst gastrointestinal virus I have ever had. Three of the babies from the Aquarium trip have it, too, as do three of their parents/caregivers. So, I'm guessing we picked it up at the Aquarium. Maybe we shouldn't have played the "lick a sick fish" game? I left work as soon as I could get a replacement in, and did not work Friday. I have been obsessively drinking water to avoid dehydration. I seem to be on the mend, now, and actually ate breakfast this morning. Now, I'm just completely exhausted, devoid of all energy, and back to dealing with obnoxious cold symptoms. Jeremy and Valerie both still have the cold, but have so far managed to avoid the GI virus. I'm praying they don't catch it. It's no fun. Besides, they're miserable enough with just the cold.
Anyhow, that's the long and the short of the fun and the not fun we have had this week. I realize, now, that in the time I wrote this, I could have written Valerie's monthly letter. Oh well. Hindsight being 20/20 and all that.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Baby-Led Weaning
As Valerie's six-month birthday approached, I did a lot of reading on the subject of introducing solid foods. It was rather an overwhelming undertaking. There are about as many different approaches to feeding as there are different babies. Oddly enough, the more I read, the less overwhelmed I became. It all seemed to blur together into one great, big, educated guess. There are advantages to every theory, but in the end, it all seems to pretty much work. Once the pressure of finding the "perfect" method was off, I relaxed, and stumbled upon a theory that just "clicked".
I always hesitate to discuss my parenting choices on my blog, because the Internet is full of people who don't know how to disagree peacefully. So, before I tell you which feeding method we have chosen and why, I want to let you know that I don't think the method you have chosen is wrong, I don't think you are messing your kids up for life, and I don't think you are a bad parent for choosing to feed your child according to conventional guidelines. Really.
Okay, so here it is: We let Valerie eat real food. We let her feed it to herself. We avoid major allergens and choking hazards and chemical-laden processed foods, but otherwise, we just let her eat normal food, cooked to gummable softness and cut into spears for easy handling. The method is called Baby-Led Weaning, but I like to think of it as "What our great-great-grandmothers did before there were handheld food mills or Gerber". There are a lot of developmental and nutritional advantages to this method, and if you're interested, you can read up on it here or here or here. I'm not here to convince anyone, though. This was all just an elaborate preamble to an adorable video of Valerie eating broccoli.
I always hesitate to discuss my parenting choices on my blog, because the Internet is full of people who don't know how to disagree peacefully. So, before I tell you which feeding method we have chosen and why, I want to let you know that I don't think the method you have chosen is wrong, I don't think you are messing your kids up for life, and I don't think you are a bad parent for choosing to feed your child according to conventional guidelines. Really.
Okay, so here it is: We let Valerie eat real food. We let her feed it to herself. We avoid major allergens and choking hazards and chemical-laden processed foods, but otherwise, we just let her eat normal food, cooked to gummable softness and cut into spears for easy handling. The method is called Baby-Led Weaning, but I like to think of it as "What our great-great-grandmothers did before there were handheld food mills or Gerber". There are a lot of developmental and nutritional advantages to this method, and if you're interested, you can read up on it here or here or here. I'm not here to convince anyone, though. This was all just an elaborate preamble to an adorable video of Valerie eating broccoli.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The baby chick plays peek-a-boo
So, Valerie has this musical barn toy that she inherited from her cousin, which her cousin inherited from her other cousin. I now know why they were so eager to pass it along, because I have that stupid song in my head all the time. Is it a rule that kids' toys have to make annoying noises? That they can only play obnoxious, made-up songs?
Toy makers, here is a million dollar suggestion for you. Feel free to use it, no credit required. All I ask in return is that you send me one of the first ones off the assembly line. Make a toy that plays REAL MUSIC. Seriously, it can't be all that hard. iPods are so tiny now, you could easily squeeze one inside a toy. You don't even need to include any music, just make it so that parents can upload their own MP3s to it. Then, if my child manages to play whatever songs I used to like to death, I can always upload new ones. My sanity thanks you.
Toy makers, here is a million dollar suggestion for you. Feel free to use it, no credit required. All I ask in return is that you send me one of the first ones off the assembly line. Make a toy that plays REAL MUSIC. Seriously, it can't be all that hard. iPods are so tiny now, you could easily squeeze one inside a toy. You don't even need to include any music, just make it so that parents can upload their own MP3s to it. Then, if my child manages to play whatever songs I used to like to death, I can always upload new ones. My sanity thanks you.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
What do you call it when...
So, I was driving by Circuit City today, and there were big signs advertising their 50% off store closing sales. I had the following three thoughts in quick succession:
"Wow, 50% off, we could get some really good deals!"
"But we're broke."
"With all of these stores going out of business, there are a lot of good deals to be had right now, but we don't have the money to take advantage of them. This is a terrible time to be unemployed!"
And then I started laughing out loud. Because isn't that the definition of a recession?
"Wow, 50% off, we could get some really good deals!"
"But we're broke."
"With all of these stores going out of business, there are a lot of good deals to be had right now, but we don't have the money to take advantage of them. This is a terrible time to be unemployed!"
And then I started laughing out loud. Because isn't that the definition of a recession?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Six Months Old!
Dear Valerie,
You are six months old today! (I really shouldn't start these letters like that anymore, because the honest side of me wants to explain that you actually turned six months old a week ago, but we took a trip to Canada that same day and we were too busy having fun with Grandma and everyone else to write birthday letters. Meanwhile, another part of me doesn't want to waste a whole paragraph of your special monthly letter explaining why it wasn't written EXACTLY on the fifth day of the month. Let's start this over.)
Dear Valerie,
You are six months old, now! This has been an exciting month for you, developmentally. You started sitting up pretty well on your own, in spite of what some videos might lead you to believe. (I actually have a video of you sitting up on your own for over a minute, but how boring is that to watch? Babies falling over are much funnier.) You also discovered your feet, which you play with whenever they are within your reach. Diaper changes are fun, because those bare little piggies are right there in front of you, asking to be grabbed, and you conveniently maneuver yourself into a very good bum-cleaning position as soon as you see your toes.
You're still big for your age, weighing in at 18lbs 3oz (75-90%) and measuring 27 1/4 inches (90-95%) at your six-month check-up. You seem to be right on track developmentally for most milestones, except maybe for mobility. I used to think it was because you were growing so fast that you couldn't move all that weight. But I've seen you roll halfway over, and I've seen you roll the other half of the way over, so I think you're capable of rolling over, you just don't want to. I think you're just generally pretty content with where you are, and don't see the need to go rolling around to change it. That, and I think you figured out that if you roll over, you end up facing the wrong direction, and that's counter-productive if you're trying to get a closer look at someone or something. You much prefer the more direct approach, and will lean forward until you reach what you desire, or topple over in the process.
I don't really mind if you put off rolling over for a little while longer, though. Rolling leads to crawling, and crawling leads to me having to baby-proof a home that currently has electrical cords running all the way across the living room, and fun toys like batteries scattered about on the unvacuumed carpet.
You're becoming an easier baby day by day, and I know I should cherish this brief window while you're old enough to be fun and interactive, but small enough to carry around. I took you with me to New York City for my birthday, and wore you in the wrap all day. You had so much fun looking at all the big buildings, and being told you were beautiful in at least four different languages, and staring at all the shiny Chinese New Year decorations. I loved not having to lug a stroller around all day. But most of all, I loved embarking on an adventure with you. My life, as I knew it, ended the day I had you. But life as I could never have imagined it started that day, too. I get to see the world through your eyes, now, and it's a wonderful, amazing, fun place, where ordinary things are new and exciting, and it's always a good time to burst into song. I've learned to be more patient with life, and not mind so much that I can't really keep to a schedule because there's always diapers to change and a tummy to fill, because any given moment can be worth enjoying together. Sometimes, I will admit, I get frustrated, and wish I could wake up at 8:50 and still get out the door at 9:00 like I used to be able to do, without having to worry about packing a diaper bag. But other days, like the day we spent in NYC together, I remember why Jeremy and I wanted to start a family in the first place. A life worth living is a life worth sharing, and sharing our life with you has made our life richer than ever before. Thank you.
Love,
Mama.
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