Keeping up with blogging is tough when you have a small baby at home. On weekdays, I’m usually pretty busy with Claire and can only spare a few minutes here and there checking my email and Facebook, and if I’m lucky, I’ll read someone else’s blog. By the time Neal gets home from work, it’s time to talk about our days and for me to run around and get a few things done (laundry, sweeping/washing floors, etc) that I couldn’t get to because I was too busy having fun and playing with Claire.
As Neal and I see Claire everyday, we probably don’t notice the changes in her as much as other people would; my in-laws are coming down next weekend for the long weekend, so I’m sure they’ll see a big difference, and not only in her size. But here are the things we’ve noticed and I can think of:
* Her sleep continues to improve, by and large. She does have the odd night here and there when she’ll wake up more often, but lately we’ve been able to give her a bottle before we go to bed between 10pm and 11pm and she’ll sleep until 5 a.m. or so at which time I give her another bottle and then she goes back to sleep until 8:30 a.m. Last night was awesome because we gave her a bottle a little after 11 p.m. and she slept until 4 a.m. and then after Neal gave her a bottle, she slept again until 9 a.m.
* Her naps during the day are pretty sporadic. Over the past week or so, I’ve noticed that she often has a nap in the afternoon. I can usually take her out for a walk and then when I come home, she’s still sleeping in her car seat, so I just leave her there until she wakes up. In fact, I have even had to wake her up to feed her a couple of times when it gets close to our suppertime – and you know that she would wake up right when we sat down to eat!
* She is able to reach out and grab things, particularly some links we have attached to her vibrating chair. She really enjoys bringing those to her mouth! And if you put her hand around a rattle we have, she’ll shake it, although I think that the only conscious part of that is her decision to continue her vice grip on it.
* Tummy time is still a bit of a challenge; she hates being on her belly in a very big way. I know some parents whose babies will only sleep on their bellies and they have had to make the somewhat difficult decision to ignore the warnings against SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) as it is recommended that babies only sleep on their backs. At least I don’t have to make that decision because Claire will only sleep on her back, but I do wish she wouldn’t fight the tummy time during the day. We have, however, had a couple of episodes during this past week when, although she hasn’t enjoyed it, she has tolerated it for a few minutes. She is enjoying being up against my shoulder and looking around, though, so it seems that her neck is getting stronger even without spending a whole lot of time on her belly.
* She is definitely very “talkative” and spends much of her awake time cooing and gurgling. She really enjoys making a guttural sound in the back of her throat, so I think she’s going to end up speaking German when she’s older! Or she’ll speak with a Scottish accent and will roll her r’s.
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I know I keep expressing amazement at how quickly the weeks are going by, but seriously, I can’t believe Claire is 11 weeks already! Almost 3 months! I am enjoying how interactive she is becoming, but it saddens me to think that the time is flying by. I try not to focus on that, but rather on how her personality continues to show itself and how her features continue to become more and more defined.
Happy gleeful baby!
She looks so grown up when I prop her up like this
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So Sherry moves to Halifax tomorrow! I still don’t know if it has completely sunk in yet, that I am finally going to have family living in the city! Sherry and George have wanted to move here for so long, even before I came here to scope out the city. In fact, it was after seeing their pictures and hearing their stories from their first trip here (well, Sherry’s first trip; George had been here throughout his childhood) that I decided to take my vacation here.
Knowing how much they loved this place, I hoped that some day they would make the move. But I have to admit that as the years went by, I started to doubt that I would ever have family living near me. So when Sherry first told me they had actual concrete plans to move here, I was ecstatic! I emailed Sherry last week to tell her that I’d be coming by their place over the long weekend – I would go sooner but I know they’ll be busy unpacking on Wednesday, and I have a dentist appointment on Thursday. Neal’s parents are coming down on Friday afternoon, so I imagine it’ll be Saturday. I can’t wait!
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