A little Singing

Up and Up

Ray went out of town for five days this week, the longest amount of time that we've been single girls. We had a fun, lowkey weekend with business as usual on the weekdays. We discovered that the laundry basket is a fun and interesting toy/seat.

She's a big help with folding the laundry, pulling out anything that has a string on it and playing peekaboo with Daddy's T-shirts.

Lyla is getting all over the place now! Following me from living room to kitchen to the dining room and beyond. She also has finally figured out how to sit herself from her stomach; that was a long time coming! On Saturday morning I was getting dressed and watching the monitor; one moment she was laying down, and when I looked a few minutes later she was sitting!

She's still getting around by army crawling, though she's pretty fast now. Still working on the real crawl, but I have begun to wonder if she might skip that and move straight to standing and walking. Sometimes I can tell that she is trying to figure out how to get on her feet and straighten her legs.

She LOVES to stand and look out the window, now that she can be there by herself. I'm always close by, but she can hold her own for a long time, until she is distracted with something else and gets unsteady on her feet.

When Ray came home he was surprised by the changes he saw in Lyla in such a short time. I have to agree, there is a recognizable shift in her immature jargon, the way she addresses me.

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I received some nice feedback on my rant post, both online and off. Some advice, but more was some nice understanding that's always good to hear. It also made me realize that, while I have this list of things that we struggle with, there's a much longer list of things that we've really got down. Better to dwell on those things! Just a few off the top of my head..

1. Messy poopy diaper changes with a squirmy baby trying to turn over- Mastered.

2. Changing massive blowouts in the back of my car- Mastered. (Though having to change all her clothes seems to be a thing of the past now that her poop is more solid and comes out with less... velocity.)

3. Nursing- Mastered. The struggle it was for the first two months is a distant memory now. She has four teeth now too, so that hurdle/fear is passed.

4. Cooking dinner holding an 18-lb kid- Mastered. With or without the help of a sling.

mother-daughter portrait, September 10th

Oh yea, and those jeans? Haven't been able to fit into them since January 2010. Boo-ya!

Still would like to lose 5 lbs, but it will happen in the next few months and I feel good about where I am.

gimme the phone!

:-)

What the Hey Am I Doing?

This is a bit of a rant, but maybe it will strike a nerve with the pair of people who read this blog, maybe a few more who stumble upon it by accident. While motherhood is wonderful and I wouldn't ever trade it, there are definitely some aspects of this job that have surprised me and are very frustrating. Like the fact that most days seem like one long unanswered question.

(Yes it is a job. One with 16 hour days that often requires 24 hour surveillance and attention, as well as tasks and situations to which I don't have the right answers.) Which leads me to this post. . .

I'm a reasonably intelligent person. I'd say I'm pretty sensitive and tolerant with spending my days almost exclusively with someone who can't express their needs or have a conversation. I'm an introvert so have less need for constant adult company. With that said, I often wish I could just turn around and say, "what should I do?" Over and over and over. A thousand questions pop in my head on a daily basis and I don't have the answers to any of them. Here's a taste:

1. She stopped waking at night for a few nights but has started back up again. Should I ignore her and let her work it out? Go in? Nurse or not nurse?

2. I'm seeing the beginnings of temper, of vocal whining and willfulness. Do I ignore the unbecoming behavior? How do I address it?

3. She's trying to crawl, does some good creeping, but gets frustrated a lot (see #2). Should I be letting her always figure it out on her own, or should I pick her up and bring to the toy when she complains?

4. Still screaming fits at bedtime. This child will turn me gray on this issue alone.

5. Naps have been shorter and unpredictable lately. Is this permanent? And with the transition from two naps to one, how do I handle that? And when do I know it's the right time?

When I do ask these questions, the response I get is mostly, "It's hard. . ."

To which I think, "No #$% it's hard!! I get that, I want to know what to do!!"

It's hugely frustrating!

Thank you. . . oh and if anyone does have the answers to any of the questions above- tell me!!!!

Weekends at the Park

The past few weeks, our weekend morning routine has included a walk to the park after breakfast. Casanova Park is 3 blocks up on our street, and it's cool and deserted at 7:30am. I pack Lyla in the Ergobaby carrier (still clad in jammies) and she gets some good swing time in. She loves the swings.

When she was younger, she'd sit at the back and hold on to the bars. Now she lets her whole body go forward and rides Peter Pan-style, arms and legs flying in the wind.

It's the perfect amount of excitement for a good nap shortly thereafter. :-)

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Finally Bought a Video Monitor

and it's worth every penny.

If you are debating this purchase for your baby, DO IT. When I was expecting, I didn't think we hardly needed a regular monitor let alone one with a camera (we have a small house and she's right next door to our room.) Big mistake. Not knowing what is going on in Lyla's crib has created a lot of stress for me the past few months, and now that I do know, I feel so much better.

Plus it's way better than TV.

Giggles

Yesterday's video seems to only appear on some browsers.

I really wanted to share it, so here it is again~

Lyla at 9 Months

And the final trimester of the first year begins!

I was looking at some old pictures this week, it never ceases to amaze me how much change can occur in so short a time. Look at these two bath shots, from June 3rd and July 27th (still over a month ago!):

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We're really enjoying our Thursday playgroup. I'm the organizer and it's a great group of women and babies. We rotate each others' houses and a local park.

Lyla is still a really good sleeper. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7pm and wakes up between 6am and 7am, with one wake-up around 4:30am-5am to nurse. This is a quick 10-minute visit, so while I certainly wouldn't mind when she cuts this out, it's perfectly bearable. We still have some crying issues for naps and bedtime about 25% of the time, which is definitely an improvement. The bad days are really hard for me, so I can't wait until we get past this phase.

She does sleep exactly like me- on her tummy with her bottom in the air, and hard. :-)

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If I had to pick a theme for this month, it's talking and movement!

Lyla has always babbled a lot, but now she does it with inflection and gestures. At times I feel like I'm talking to a grown-up who just speaks another language that I don't understand. This past week she said her first word, "Wow!" I don't think it will be long before she adds more words to her repertoire, and I wouldn't be surprised if she talks long before she walks. Reading stories is one of her favorite activities; we read about a dozen books every day and she sits quietly looking at the pictures and listening. And she loves to turn the pages! She has favorites too- the first was Baby Animals, which is now out; The Color Kittens and The Poky Little Puppy's Counting Book are in.

Rolling clear across the floor and belly surfing have been replaced with arm and core work, as she practices getting on her hands and knees more. I never considered what a complex movement it is just to go from sitting to all fours and then moving forward- but it truly is! So many things going on at once to make it happen. She can do a really great plank right now.

In the mornings she nurses in my bed before I put her down to get dressed. Her favorite toy

during this time is my chapstick, which I use before giving to her to play with. She immediately pulls the lid off and clangs the two together like cymbals.

This is called, "mommy, gimme that camera!"

Eating solids. . . . .

I put three meals a day in front of her, but she eats very little. I mean, like, 2-3 bites per meal. Breastmilk is still her primary source of nutrition by far. Her pincer grip has developed a lot recently and so she able to feed herself much more and this has created a bit more interest. As this skill continues to develop she will certainly start eating more. Meager as her consumption is, her favorites have been yogurt (plain, full fat), millet cereal, pears, and peas. Yogurt is the only food she'll eat in any decent quantity. A recent discovery, she really likes Veggie Booty. I've given her little pieces as a snack in between meals, more for the practice. She likes to lick the pieces or gnaw on them a bit, for the most part she wittles them down to a gloppy wet mess.

There's a piece of Veggie Booty behind that fat little hand

Lyla loves the swings! I try to take her to the neighborhood park every day for some swinging, and the three of us go on Saturday mornings.

taken this morning. she looks like a toddler, not a baby!

She also loves baths. No matter how fussy she is in the evening, her bath is a calming and playful time.

I took this video of Lyla yesterday, and I can think of no better way to sum up this post~

Plank

. . Foreshadowing . .

Catch Up

I missed Lyla's 7 and 8-month updates! With so many action items to cram in during naps, it's tough to find the time to blog. I need to do a better job though; all the mommy bloggers out there, I salute you! A lot has changed since my last post, I'll try to do some catch-up on what's been going on around here.

We've been going to a music class on Fridays for the past six weeks. Lyla is almost the youngest in our class, but she really enjoys the music and gets more comfortable around all the toddlers around her.

Solid food eating is. . . so-so. She's still not terribly interested. We try for 3 meals a day but she rarely touches breakfast, nor lunch. She has begun to eat a few finger foods, hopefully those will inspire more interest. The one food she consistently goes for is whole milk plain yogurt. She loves it!

She's a super happy and funny girl- when she's well and rested. :) I suspect that's a caveat for just about every baby. She had her first illness at the beginning of August, not fun for both of us. She recovered very quickly, she has a well-functioning immune system.

This is my best attempt to catch what I like to call her "ooo" face. She makes it all the time, it's so charming.

I love this shot. Look at the dancers' turnout on my daughter at 8 months!

Baths are now a permanent part of the bedtime routine, and she loves them. She has a bunch of toys and loves to play and splash. That orange frog is definitely her favorite bath toy.

This is just a pretty photo of her, one morning while still in jammies.

Finally, cooking utensils are fun toys- especially my baking brushes, both silicone and wooden.

9-month post coming up this weekend!

A Beautiful Hand-Me-Down

My mom made this dress for me, for a family wedding. The meaning of dressing her in something I wore is not lost on me. The fact that she looks cuter in it than I did is not lost on me either. :)

Asleep in the Car

We're still here! Just very busy these days with a heavier social schedule.

Today Lyla fell asleep in the car on the way to lunch and I grabbed this sweet picture.

Singing Together

We do a lot of singing in this house- lullabies, random songs, goofy voices and humming. Some of Lyla's sounds seem like an imitation of our singing- she has her 'talking' voice but also a 'singing' voice that is more and more common.

Weekends are fun because all three of us get to lay around the house and play together. Yesterday we were entertaining Lyla close to her naptime (hence the cranky grimace at the end) and Ray got hold of my phone. I thought he was flipping through my photos but he was secretly filming us!

Jump Up!

Video success via YouTube! Thanks for the tip Erica :) I'm thrilled to post this and a few more videos soon because Lyla is much cuter in action!

6 Months

Half-birthday! Lyla turned 6 months last week. Let me share some things that have been going on:

One of the biggest events this month is that we started some solid foods!

Breastmilk is still her main source of nutrition, so these solids are mostly for practice, teaching her how to eat and introducing different textures and flavors. Some days Lyla is interested, some days she's not. She nurses when we get up, then I workout and make my breakfast before we both eat our food. So far she has tried brown rice cereal, pears, squash, sweet potato, peas, and prunes; I have carrots, apples, and bananas ready to go. My plan is to introduce a second meal at 7 months and a third meal at 8 months.

We're going on lots of walks in the stroller, now that the days are more sunny. This time outside makes for happy mommy and happy baby!

This past week we got Lyla her booster seat. She's not loving the Bumbo much anymore; it's getting small and she no longer needs the trunk support. She's really enjoying being at the table in the seat, either eating or playing with toys. I drag the chair into the kitchen while I'm cooking too.

She has been able to sit in a high chair very nicely at a few restaurants too. I just have to remember to bring plenty of toys for distraction . . . This soft carrot teether is one of her current favorites.

I had packed the playmat away but brought it out again this month because the hanging toys have some more appeal for a sitting baby:

And this girl doesn't need the Boppy pillow to sit anymore.

She can do it quite well all by herself now.

We started going to postnatal fitness class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30pm, for some extra exercise and to meet other mommies and babies. We made some new friends! Lyla plays for a bunch of the class, but I usually miss some of abs if she starts to fuss.

Yea I have no idea what she's doing here with her legs. I guess it was comfortable because she stayed this way a long time.

We went to her 6-month doctor appointment- she weighs 15 lbs 5.5 oz, and Dr. Eileen was very impressed with her gross motor and language skills.

If there were a theme for the past month, it would be blowouts. Lots of them. We had a week stretch where there was a major explosion every day. I put together an emergency diaper kit in the back of my car and filled it with extra diapers, wipes, disposable changing pads, and plastic bags. Because on more than one occasion I forgot to replenish my diaper bag and was missing something... I've used this emergency kit half a dozen times already, so it was probably one of my best ideas ever.

I don't have a picture for said blowouts. Be thankful. Instead, here's Lyla playing in her music station, which is becoming more and more fun as she learns to move around and touch all the different objects.

I have so many cute videos of Lyla, but I'm still having issues uploading them on Blogger. Hopefully I can figure something out and will be able to post lots of them soon.

Baths are still fun, especially since she can sit up now and play with toys. That bath sponge has been AWESOME, but it's on its way out. It's getting a little mangy, but the thing cost $5 so we'll toss it and get a new one for baby #2.

If I had to pick a favorite time with Lyla it would definitely be now. But I have a feeling that the best times are still to come, with more fun down the road. Right now two baby teeth are approaching her bottom gums, I can see the outline and the surface is getting white. In the coming weeks (or days!) I may have some tooth pictures to share!

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