Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Crazy Jake
There is a standing full-length mirror in our bedroom and every few months, Jake will see the dog in the mirror and try to protect us from him. This morning, he noticed the dog and started to growl at him. It wasn't good enough. He had to stand and move towards the dog. The hackles were up on his back, and he was growling loudly at the mirror. I thought he might cross the line and attack the dog this time, so I had to stop laughing long enough to call him down.
(There is also a dog he discovered in the oven door the other day, and he gave that dog some warning growls, too.)
(There is also a dog he discovered in the oven door the other day, and he gave that dog some warning growls, too.)
Baby Book: Sleep
I don't want to jinx anything by posting this, but Julia has slept through the night for the last 4 nights. Knocking on wood...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Baby Book: Clothing Sizes
Our very tall baby has made the transition into mostly 6-9 month clothing at 4.5 months. I guess this is par for course, as she was in 3-6 month clothing at 2/2.5 months.
I look forward to being the mother of a WNBA superstar.
I look forward to being the mother of a WNBA superstar.
Baby Book: Toys & Motor Control
Focusing on Toys
I remember the first time Julia focused her eyes on some toys. She was sitting in her bouncy seat and looked up at the cow, pig, and lamb mobile. It was very early on, but I can't remember when. Maybe it was 3 weeks? (That's part of the reason for these blog entries. It all starts to blur together!)
Batting at Toys
When we were in Georgia in December, she was in a bouncy seat, and I noticed her batting at toys for the first time. Before that, she really had no interest in toys. Friends with babies around the same age would say that their kids had "favorite toys." Julia just hadn't been interested, so it was fun to see her enthusiastically batting at the toys on the bar above the bouncy seat.
Now, she is really interested in her toys, and she can sit (well, be propped up) in a corner of the sofa and entertain herself with a toy. When I needed to drive somewhere the first week in January, I put a toy back in the car seat with her. During the drive, I heard it rustle and rattle as she entertained herself for the car ride. Amazing!
Pacifiers
Julia really enjoys a pacifier when she is in the mood. If she is not in the mood, she will simply spit it out. She has clear preference for the Nuk pacifiers over the Avent ones. At the very beginning, she never cared for the Soothies, but I know other parents who say their babies LOVED them. It is amazing how a teeny baby can distinguish between pacifiers and have a favorite.
At a couple months, she would bat the pacifier out of her mouth with her little flailing arms. Then, she would get very angry, because she didn't have a pacifier in her mouth anymore. Over the last couple of weeks, she has started to use her newfound motor control to take the pacifier out of her mouth and study it very intensely. She'll turn it around in her hands looking at all sides. Occasionally, I'll give her two pacifiers: one for her mouth and another that she can study.
"Oooh, my hair is sooo soft."
From the early days, Julia liked to have her little head rubbed; it would help her fall asleep. When rocking her, as her eyes were getting heavy, I would trace my fingers over her eyelids and eyebrows. It relaxed her and put her to sleep. R said that he would lightly run his fingertips over her entire head when rocking her, and she loved it.
Around the first week in January, Julia found the top of her head with her own hand, and while nursing, she would rub her hand all over her head, enjoying the softness of her babyfine hair.
I remember the first time Julia focused her eyes on some toys. She was sitting in her bouncy seat and looked up at the cow, pig, and lamb mobile. It was very early on, but I can't remember when. Maybe it was 3 weeks? (That's part of the reason for these blog entries. It all starts to blur together!)
Batting at Toys
When we were in Georgia in December, she was in a bouncy seat, and I noticed her batting at toys for the first time. Before that, she really had no interest in toys. Friends with babies around the same age would say that their kids had "favorite toys." Julia just hadn't been interested, so it was fun to see her enthusiastically batting at the toys on the bar above the bouncy seat.
Now, she is really interested in her toys, and she can sit (well, be propped up) in a corner of the sofa and entertain herself with a toy. When I needed to drive somewhere the first week in January, I put a toy back in the car seat with her. During the drive, I heard it rustle and rattle as she entertained herself for the car ride. Amazing!
Pacifiers
Julia really enjoys a pacifier when she is in the mood. If she is not in the mood, she will simply spit it out. She has clear preference for the Nuk pacifiers over the Avent ones. At the very beginning, she never cared for the Soothies, but I know other parents who say their babies LOVED them. It is amazing how a teeny baby can distinguish between pacifiers and have a favorite.
At a couple months, she would bat the pacifier out of her mouth with her little flailing arms. Then, she would get very angry, because she didn't have a pacifier in her mouth anymore. Over the last couple of weeks, she has started to use her newfound motor control to take the pacifier out of her mouth and study it very intensely. She'll turn it around in her hands looking at all sides. Occasionally, I'll give her two pacifiers: one for her mouth and another that she can study.
"Oooh, my hair is sooo soft."
From the early days, Julia liked to have her little head rubbed; it would help her fall asleep. When rocking her, as her eyes were getting heavy, I would trace my fingers over her eyelids and eyebrows. It relaxed her and put her to sleep. R said that he would lightly run his fingertips over her entire head when rocking her, and she loved it.
Around the first week in January, Julia found the top of her head with her own hand, and while nursing, she would rub her hand all over her head, enjoying the softness of her babyfine hair.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Snow Day
Jake doesn't much care about the weather; he wants to play fetch. Julia was bundled up and made a very cute spectator.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Baby Book: Sleep
A couple of friends and I have talked about the fact we aren't keeping traditional baby books, and our blogs are really serving that purpose. Inspired by reading my own baby book, I'm going to keep some notes about Julia's development. This much detail may bore some blog readers, but that's OK, they can skip these entries and just wait for more pictures. They won't have to wait long! ;-)
Sleep:
Julia's sleeping got more regular around 2 months. I remember being at playgroup before Halloween, and I was so loopy from sleep deprivation that I couldn't string a coherent sentence together. Shortly after that, I started using the white noise machine I bought to drown out traffic noise while living in NYC. Robert had put it in the nursery early on, and I don't know why I didn't try it earlier. I remembered that the white noise had helped our nephew sleep, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It worked well, and that was a turning point in Julia's sleeping.
Around 2 months, Julia was waking about 2 times each night to eat. This was about the time that she gave herself a bedtime. She started getting fussy around 9 pm, and we quickly began to recognize her tired cry. So, we started a nighttime routine that around 8:30 pm: getting her pajamas on, turning on the white noise machine, and rocking her. She responded well to the routine, and we enjoyed having some of the evening for just the two of us.
Around 3 months, she started waking only once per night to eat (most of the time). We also switched her from the SwaddleMe that had served us so well to sleep sacks at 3 months. I enjoy getting more rest (obviously!), but I don't mind the one feeding per night. Jake usually follows me into the nursery and snoozes while Julia eats. She's so sleepy and goes right to the business of eating. She's all snuggled up to me, and it such a sweet, quiet time. Occasionally, she'll wake up a couple of times per night, and I'll ask her, "So why did you go back on the 'one feeding per night' deal we made?!" Apparently, she wants to keep me guessing!
A big milestone came on 1/15/08 when Julia slept through the night! She slept from 8:45 pm until 5:47 am. I celebrated this milestone, but I also have talked to enough friends to know that babes can regress in their sleeping patterns. Teething, growth spurts, and travel can have us all back to sleep deprivation, so I'm not counting on getting 8 hours of solid sleep from now on. Last night, she woke at 2:30am for a feeding, instead of her more typical 4:30 am. For now, I'm counting my lucky stars that she is a good, night-time sleeper. (Knock on wood!) Next, we're working on getting her naps a bit more predictable!
Sleep:
Julia's sleeping got more regular around 2 months. I remember being at playgroup before Halloween, and I was so loopy from sleep deprivation that I couldn't string a coherent sentence together. Shortly after that, I started using the white noise machine I bought to drown out traffic noise while living in NYC. Robert had put it in the nursery early on, and I don't know why I didn't try it earlier. I remembered that the white noise had helped our nephew sleep, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It worked well, and that was a turning point in Julia's sleeping.
Around 2 months, Julia was waking about 2 times each night to eat. This was about the time that she gave herself a bedtime. She started getting fussy around 9 pm, and we quickly began to recognize her tired cry. So, we started a nighttime routine that around 8:30 pm: getting her pajamas on, turning on the white noise machine, and rocking her. She responded well to the routine, and we enjoyed having some of the evening for just the two of us.
Around 3 months, she started waking only once per night to eat (most of the time). We also switched her from the SwaddleMe that had served us so well to sleep sacks at 3 months. I enjoy getting more rest (obviously!), but I don't mind the one feeding per night. Jake usually follows me into the nursery and snoozes while Julia eats. She's so sleepy and goes right to the business of eating. She's all snuggled up to me, and it such a sweet, quiet time. Occasionally, she'll wake up a couple of times per night, and I'll ask her, "So why did you go back on the 'one feeding per night' deal we made?!" Apparently, she wants to keep me guessing!
A big milestone came on 1/15/08 when Julia slept through the night! She slept from 8:45 pm until 5:47 am. I celebrated this milestone, but I also have talked to enough friends to know that babes can regress in their sleeping patterns. Teething, growth spurts, and travel can have us all back to sleep deprivation, so I'm not counting on getting 8 hours of solid sleep from now on. Last night, she woke at 2:30am for a feeding, instead of her more typical 4:30 am. For now, I'm counting my lucky stars that she is a good, night-time sleeper. (Knock on wood!) Next, we're working on getting her naps a bit more predictable!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Courtship of Julia
Frequent readers of this blog may remember the first meeting of Julia & Max. Julia continues to play it cool, but Max's devotion seems unwavering.
Dec 13, 2007
Jan 11, 2008
Dec 13, 2007
Jan 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
What a cute hat!
Thanks to Elizabeth & Mark for this smashing sleeping outfit. When they gave it to us, it was so big she couldn't wear it. Now, it won't fit much longer.
The hat cracks me up!
The hat cracks me up!
When Dad dresses Baby
I slept in on a Saturday (thank you, honey!), and when I woke, Julia was dressed in this ensemble.
No fashionista file here. In R's defense, she spat up on the top that matched, and he just grabbed another shirt.
No fashionista file here. In R's defense, she spat up on the top that matched, and he just grabbed another shirt.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Julia stats: 4 months
Dr. Myers said Julia is thriving!
Weight: 14 lbs 12 oz (75th%)
Height: 26 1/2 in (97th%)
Head Circumference: 16.5 in (75th%)
There were 4 more shots today, and Little Miss got very red-faced and cried some big, fat tears. She's fussy today, but she still treats me to one of her dimpled smiles from time to time.
Weight: 14 lbs 12 oz (75th%)
Height: 26 1/2 in (97th%)
Head Circumference: 16.5 in (75th%)
There were 4 more shots today, and Little Miss got very red-faced and cried some big, fat tears. She's fussy today, but she still treats me to one of her dimpled smiles from time to time.
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