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Jun. 2nd, 2005 11:31 amSweet Jesus, what a night. And now this morning's nap appears to be on very thin ice indeed. What a joy and a blessing motherhood is.
No, seriously, it is. I'm sure it is. As I will now proceed to remind myself by posting a developmental update, because the alternative would probably involve crying or writing Alex out of my will. (People ask how I can manage to post in my LJ, what with the baby and all. My question is, how could I manage if I didn't post? I'd be a candidate for the loony bin if it were just me and Alex all day all the time.)
It's amazing how rapidly cognitive development unfolds. Alex is only seven and a half weeks old, but she's already so much more capable and strong and interactive than she was even a couple of weeks ago. I remember how awed I was when she first locked her gaze on my face and really seemed to see me. Now she tracks moving objects. I watch as I change her diaper. She gazes intently at one of the teddy bears as her mobile rotates overhead, and moves her eyes and head smoothly to watch it pass from left to right. Then she looks back over to the left to pick up another bear and follow its track. She's also started to visually lock on to interesting objects from wherever she is in the room - for example, she'll watch the bedroom ceiling fan from her bouncy seat, or the changing station, or the bed. The different distances and angles don't hinder her.
There's a whole new world of toys and games, now. She adores the stuffed birds![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
curlygrrl gave her, which make ornithologically-correct birdcalls when squeezed. Alex can't squeeze them, but she likes it when I do, and she likes when I brush the fuzzy topfeathers of the galah against her face and neck. Just the appearance of the lorakeet can make her laugh, even before she hears its call. The other favorite toy is a stuffed turtle with a soft mirror on one side and some dangling rattles/grabby bits below. Alex loves to look in the mirror, and she's starting to show more interest in handling and grabbing what she sees.
We play this game: I smile at Alex and stick my tongue out. She grins back at me. I stick my tongue out again, and she grins again. After a couple of rounds, she sticks her tongue out too, and then we both grin like crazy and stick our tongues out at each other.
She's started to be able to hit things on purpose. This amazes me. There was always plenty of arm flailing, and sometimes she hit things by accident - but now she flails purposefully, bashing her fist into the rattle that hangs from her turtle toy, or the swinging globe with the bell in it that hangs from her bouncy seat. She's not so good at reach-and-grab, but she flails like a champ.
She wants to walk. No, actually, she wants to mountain climb. When I hold her upright, she works her little legs in ceaseless climbing/stepping motions, pushing each foot alternately against my stomach, hard. Her arms wave in synch. I call this move "scaling Mount Mama." When I lay her down on her tummy, she makes crawling motions with her arms and legs. She doesn't appear to have read the developmental milestones calendar. Either that, or she sees no reason to mess around with some piddly "hold head up"/"roll over" stuff when there are heights to be scaled. Excelsior!
She's making more vocalizations, including, sometimes, a happy and excited "Ah!" Mostly she still hums and grunts. We're starting to have more "conversations," where her end of the interaction is kept up by eye contact, smiles, and random noises. She's starting to pay more attention to singing, which is fun for us. We do a lot of dancing and singing in the sling.
She doesn't hate as many things as she used to. She's much more tolerant of having her clothes or her diaper changed. She can be distracted from hateful activities by speech or moving toys. Last night when she was being absolutely repellently awful, changing her out of her adorably butch denim overalls into a nightgown at bedtime didn't make it any worse. (Believe me, it didn't used to be that way.)
And she's still very sweet...
...sometimes.
No, seriously, it is. I'm sure it is. As I will now proceed to remind myself by posting a developmental update, because the alternative would probably involve crying or writing Alex out of my will. (People ask how I can manage to post in my LJ, what with the baby and all. My question is, how could I manage if I didn't post? I'd be a candidate for the loony bin if it were just me and Alex all day all the time.)
It's amazing how rapidly cognitive development unfolds. Alex is only seven and a half weeks old, but she's already so much more capable and strong and interactive than she was even a couple of weeks ago. I remember how awed I was when she first locked her gaze on my face and really seemed to see me. Now she tracks moving objects. I watch as I change her diaper. She gazes intently at one of the teddy bears as her mobile rotates overhead, and moves her eyes and head smoothly to watch it pass from left to right. Then she looks back over to the left to pick up another bear and follow its track. She's also started to visually lock on to interesting objects from wherever she is in the room - for example, she'll watch the bedroom ceiling fan from her bouncy seat, or the changing station, or the bed. The different distances and angles don't hinder her.
There's a whole new world of toys and games, now. She adores the stuffed birds
curlygrrl gave her, which make ornithologically-correct birdcalls when squeezed. Alex can't squeeze them, but she likes it when I do, and she likes when I brush the fuzzy topfeathers of the galah against her face and neck. Just the appearance of the lorakeet can make her laugh, even before she hears its call. The other favorite toy is a stuffed turtle with a soft mirror on one side and some dangling rattles/grabby bits below. Alex loves to look in the mirror, and she's starting to show more interest in handling and grabbing what she sees.We play this game: I smile at Alex and stick my tongue out. She grins back at me. I stick my tongue out again, and she grins again. After a couple of rounds, she sticks her tongue out too, and then we both grin like crazy and stick our tongues out at each other.
She's started to be able to hit things on purpose. This amazes me. There was always plenty of arm flailing, and sometimes she hit things by accident - but now she flails purposefully, bashing her fist into the rattle that hangs from her turtle toy, or the swinging globe with the bell in it that hangs from her bouncy seat. She's not so good at reach-and-grab, but she flails like a champ.
She wants to walk. No, actually, she wants to mountain climb. When I hold her upright, she works her little legs in ceaseless climbing/stepping motions, pushing each foot alternately against my stomach, hard. Her arms wave in synch. I call this move "scaling Mount Mama." When I lay her down on her tummy, she makes crawling motions with her arms and legs. She doesn't appear to have read the developmental milestones calendar. Either that, or she sees no reason to mess around with some piddly "hold head up"/"roll over" stuff when there are heights to be scaled. Excelsior!
She's making more vocalizations, including, sometimes, a happy and excited "Ah!" Mostly she still hums and grunts. We're starting to have more "conversations," where her end of the interaction is kept up by eye contact, smiles, and random noises. She's starting to pay more attention to singing, which is fun for us. We do a lot of dancing and singing in the sling.
She doesn't hate as many things as she used to. She's much more tolerant of having her clothes or her diaper changed. She can be distracted from hateful activities by speech or moving toys. Last night when she was being absolutely repellently awful, changing her out of her adorably butch denim overalls into a nightgown at bedtime didn't make it any worse. (Believe me, it didn't used to be that way.)
And she's still very sweet...
...sometimes.
