So yesterday when I was posting the video of Anastasia rolling over, she was watching it with me. She hadn't rolled over in a couple of weeks, but I figured it was just because she preferred to be on her back right now.
Apparently she'd actually forgotten how to do it...but watching the video reminded her.
When I put her on the floor after watching the video, she immediately rolled over several times in a row. She's done it again every time I've put her on her back today. How clever is she? She reminded herself of her new trick!
6.26.2008
my baby is a genius
Anastasia went to the pediatrician on Monday (June 23) for her four-month well baby visit. She weight 13.3 pounds (which is the 43 percentile) and was 25.98 inches long (96 percentile!). Not that it means anything at this stage, but isn't that just gorgeous? She definitely has model potential!
Good thing I'm not one of those moms...at least, I don't think I am...
Of course her development is well ahead of average. When she put her on her stomach to see how she held her head up, the pediatrician said she "looks just like the baby in the picture"--completely ideal. But I don't think Dr. Sells believed me that Anastasia can already roll over from her back to her stomach. "That's a six-month milestone," she said, with an incredulous twist of her lips. "Is she doing it consistently? Is it really on purpose?"
Okay, it's true that Anastasia hasn't done it consistently all the time. When she first learned to do it, she did it every time I put her down for about a week. Then she stopped for a while. Then she did it again a few times, and lately she's stopped again. I think she just prefers to be on her back right now. She has turned over from her stomach to her back once or twice, but that was definitely not intentional, and she hasn't realized that she can do it on purpose yet. But fortunately, I did manage a few weeks ago to catch her rolling to her stomach on tape:
Just tell me that isn't intentional!
Good thing I'm not one of those moms...at least, I don't think I am...
Of course her development is well ahead of average. When she put her on her stomach to see how she held her head up, the pediatrician said she "looks just like the baby in the picture"--completely ideal. But I don't think Dr. Sells believed me that Anastasia can already roll over from her back to her stomach. "That's a six-month milestone," she said, with an incredulous twist of her lips. "Is she doing it consistently? Is it really on purpose?"
Okay, it's true that Anastasia hasn't done it consistently all the time. When she first learned to do it, she did it every time I put her down for about a week. Then she stopped for a while. Then she did it again a few times, and lately she's stopped again. I think she just prefers to be on her back right now. She has turned over from her stomach to her back once or twice, but that was definitely not intentional, and she hasn't realized that she can do it on purpose yet. But fortunately, I did manage a few weeks ago to catch her rolling to her stomach on tape:
Just tell me that isn't intentional!
6.20.2008
moments I want to remember forever
A few things I never want to forget:
...the way Anastasia looks up at me while she's nursing and suddenly smiles and then starts "talking" to me like she's telling me all about her day...
...the way she sounds exactly like a dolphin when she "talks," with squeaks and whistles that no adult human could imitate...
...the way she sometimes imitates sounds I make, like "I-ah-oo" (I love you) or "ok"...
...the way she says things that sound just like words, most commonly "ungee!" (but it doesn't really mean hungry; we checked)
...the way Matt plays the "animal sounds" game with her: "What does a cow say? Moo! What does a horse say? Neigh! What does a dog say? Ruff, ruff! What does an Anastasia say? Ungee!!!!"
...the way once when she wanted to nurse and I was getting ready for bed, and she was rooting and wiggling and looking for me, and Matt curled up next to her with his face right next to her face to comfort her...and she kept rooting around until she suddenly took a big gulp and latched on--to his nose! I came to bed to find him shaking with silent laughter, trying not to move, as she sucked and gnawed away on the most protuberant part of his face.
...the way Matt takes her out of my arms as soon as he gets home from work, looks her in the eyes, and tells her that he thought about her all day...
...the way Anastasia nuzzles into my neck when I hold her up against my shoulder and wraps her arm around my neck like she's determined to hold herself there...
...the feeling of her damp, slightly sticky, tiny little fingers gripping mine...
...the way she smiles and giggles when I touch her nose and say "boop!"
...the way total strangers gather around me everywhere I go to admire her and rave about how adorable she is...
...the way her eyes are a different color every day...
...the way she fusses and cries when she's tired, and when I take her into the bedroom and lie her down on the bed, she suddenly quiets and gets still and content and looks up at me thankfully with her big, dark eyes...
...the way she cries when she's really mad, with her arms flung up by her face and her little features all scrunched up and her skin red, and even though it makes me sad it makes me want to laugh at the same time, because it reminds me of the moment she was born and how she cried then, and how happy I was...
...the way I love her more every time I see her, and I never knew it was possible to love anyone so much.
...the way Anastasia looks up at me while she's nursing and suddenly smiles and then starts "talking" to me like she's telling me all about her day...
...the way she sounds exactly like a dolphin when she "talks," with squeaks and whistles that no adult human could imitate...
...the way she sometimes imitates sounds I make, like "I-ah-oo" (I love you) or "ok"...
...the way she says things that sound just like words, most commonly "ungee!" (but it doesn't really mean hungry; we checked)
...the way Matt plays the "animal sounds" game with her: "What does a cow say? Moo! What does a horse say? Neigh! What does a dog say? Ruff, ruff! What does an Anastasia say? Ungee!!!!"
...the way once when she wanted to nurse and I was getting ready for bed, and she was rooting and wiggling and looking for me, and Matt curled up next to her with his face right next to her face to comfort her...and she kept rooting around until she suddenly took a big gulp and latched on--to his nose! I came to bed to find him shaking with silent laughter, trying not to move, as she sucked and gnawed away on the most protuberant part of his face.
...the way Matt takes her out of my arms as soon as he gets home from work, looks her in the eyes, and tells her that he thought about her all day...
...the way Anastasia nuzzles into my neck when I hold her up against my shoulder and wraps her arm around my neck like she's determined to hold herself there...
...the feeling of her damp, slightly sticky, tiny little fingers gripping mine...
...the way she smiles and giggles when I touch her nose and say "boop!"
...the way total strangers gather around me everywhere I go to admire her and rave about how adorable she is...
...the way her eyes are a different color every day...
...the way she fusses and cries when she's tired, and when I take her into the bedroom and lie her down on the bed, she suddenly quiets and gets still and content and looks up at me thankfully with her big, dark eyes...
...the way she cries when she's really mad, with her arms flung up by her face and her little features all scrunched up and her skin red, and even though it makes me sad it makes me want to laugh at the same time, because it reminds me of the moment she was born and how she cried then, and how happy I was...
...the way I love her more every time I see her, and I never knew it was possible to love anyone so much.
6.05.2008
ambiguous animals
I just noticed something funny about Anastasia's toys. One of the first toys she was given was a stuffed animal that my grandmother sent her. My grandmother picked it out because she thought it was a pony, and it made her think of my childhood obsession with horses. I thought the same thing when I first saw it, and was delighted by the connection, but on closer examination we discovered that the animal is not a pony, but a giraffe. It's a pony-giraffe.
Later, a friend of mine sent a rattle that's also an animal. It's a yellow bird, and at first glance we thought it was a duck. However, further examination revealed that animal to actually be a chicken, resulting in its christening as "Chuck Chuck the Chicken-Duck."
But poor Anastasia is going to have a hard time learning to identify animals if all of her toys are so easily mistaken for something else! What's next, I wonder? A liger, perhaps?
Later, a friend of mine sent a rattle that's also an animal. It's a yellow bird, and at first glance we thought it was a duck. However, further examination revealed that animal to actually be a chicken, resulting in its christening as "Chuck Chuck the Chicken-Duck."
But poor Anastasia is going to have a hard time learning to identify animals if all of her toys are so easily mistaken for something else! What's next, I wonder? A liger, perhaps?
6.04.2008
cars are a little less evil than they used to be
Tonight we took a quick trip to Whole Foods (for some bread) and Borders (for some books, since man doesn't live by bread alone). Nothing unusual in that, except that ever since Anastasia was born we've avoided driving anywhere whenever possible--even more than we usually avoid driving, I mean--because she hates the car. She screams and arches her back when I put her in the carseat, and she cries most of the time while we're driving. Sometimes she quiets for a little while the car is moving, but every time we stop at a red light, she bursts out again. Sometimes she doesn't cry until after the drive has lasted for longer than ten or fifteen minutes, but usually at the very least she bursts into inconsolable tears just before we arrive wherever we're going.
The much-dreaded drive to and from Virginia last week, however, was not as bad as I'd feared. At least, it improved considerably once I discovered that I could nurse her in the carseat while Matt was driving. She still cried about it, though, and even though we drove every day last week--it just isn't possible to get anywhere from Matt's parents' house without driving--she didn't really get any better about it.
But tonight, we drove to Whole Foods and back--a ten-minute drive each way--without a single cry. Not a single tear. Not even a complaint. Anastasia sat happily in her carseat without fuss when I put her in, no protest at all. She let me buckle her without complaining, and she smiled and cooed at me the whole way there. Even though she was tired on the way back (it was after her 8:00 bedtime), she comforted herself by chewing and sucking on fingers (both hers and mine) and looked up at me with her big eyes and a questioning expression, as if to say, I can go to bed soon, right mommy?--and didn't cry at all.
The much-dreaded drive to and from Virginia last week, however, was not as bad as I'd feared. At least, it improved considerably once I discovered that I could nurse her in the carseat while Matt was driving. She still cried about it, though, and even though we drove every day last week--it just isn't possible to get anywhere from Matt's parents' house without driving--she didn't really get any better about it.
But tonight, we drove to Whole Foods and back--a ten-minute drive each way--without a single cry. Not a single tear. Not even a complaint. Anastasia sat happily in her carseat without fuss when I put her in, no protest at all. She let me buckle her without complaining, and she smiled and cooed at me the whole way there. Even though she was tired on the way back (it was after her 8:00 bedtime), she comforted herself by chewing and sucking on fingers (both hers and mine) and looked up at me with her big eyes and a questioning expression, as if to say, I can go to bed soon, right mommy?--and didn't cry at all.
5.26.2008
what a difference three months make
We spent Memorial Day weekend with Matt's parents in Virginia for the traditional Baker family reunion on Saturday the 24th. Saturday was a significant day for several reasons, most importantly because it was Anastasia's three-month birthday. But I little dreamed how significant it would actually be.
We spent Friday night at Matt's parents' house with his brother Jeff and Jeff's wife Heidi, along with their two children, Isaac and Olivia. Olivia was born two days before Anastasia, so we were excited to introduce the cousins to each other! -- more excited, probably, than they were. Although we did manage to get some video footage of them smiling at each other.
Saturday morning, as we were all getting ourselves and the babies ready to go out to the cabin where the reunion would be, Matt decided to put Anastasia under a little toy of Olivia's. It's a mobile that sits on the ground with dangling toys, music, and flashing lights--exactly the kind of toy I never want to own. But Matt thought it would be fun to see how Anastasia reacted to it, so he put her on her back under the mobile while I was about to go get dressed. I stopped to see what she would do.
She didn't seem particularly interested in it, but she didn't mind it, either. She lay there cooing and looking at Matt, ignoring the flashing lights and the toys. Then she rolled on her side, maybe to get away from the lights, or maybe to get closer to Matt. She's been rolling onto her side from her back for quite a while, so none of us thought anything of it. But then, after just a minute on her side, she kept going--all the way to her stomach!
Those of you who aren't parents might not understand why this is a big deal, but rolling over is a big developmental milestone. Naturally, Anastasia is very young to be achieving this--most babies don't roll over until they're four months. But I never could have predicted exactly how exciting this would be for me. "Oh my gosh!" I shouted. "She rolled over! She rolled over! I can't believe it! She rolled all the way over! Anastasia, you're so clever!"
Matt and Jeff were a little startled by my shouting. To tell the truth, I was a little startled myself. "Uh, is it really that big a deal?" Matt asked uncertainly.
"It's a huge deal! This is an important developmental milestone!" I appealed to Jeff, since he's been a father now for almost two years. "Jeff, tell him what a big deal it is!"
"Uh, it's kinda like graduating college, or getting married," Jeff agreed obligingly.
"I see." Matt looked down at Anastasia, who was starting to cry because she couldn't get her arm out from under her.
"Heidi!" I shouted up the stairs. Maybe this was something only another mother could understand.
Heidi was appropriately excited for Anastasia and me, but by the end of the week, I don't think anyone could quite appreciate just how significant the accomplishment had been. Because that was only the beginning. Over the course of the week, Anastasia gradually started staying awake for longer periods--and sleeping for longer naps. Instead of being awake for an hour and then sleeping for an hour constantly throughout the day, she started having a two-hour period in the afternoon when she was awake--and more surprising, happy. Then she took a two-hour nap in the late afternoon. She also started going to sleep more easily at night, and I was able to leave her once she was asleep and hang out downstairs for two hours (from 9 to 11) before she woke up to eat again.
She also amazed me by going holding her pee for longer stretches--especially at night. One morning I got up at 4:30 am, thinking her restlessness was because she needed to go to the bathroom, to discover she had a completely dry diaper. And the first morning after we got back, she was still dry when I changed her at 8 am. It's not a pattern yet, but I'm hoping that soon we'll be able to go diaper-free at night with a towel for back-up!
On Friday she laughed for the first time--not the infant shriek she's been doing for a while, but a real, rolling, gurgling laugh. Olivia's first laugh was also this week, three days earlier, so Heidi and I got to enjoy that together. But the strangest part about that was that Anastasia's first laugh was in the car, and she hates the car. Heidi, Jeff, Olivia, Anastasia and I were going shopping, and I sat in back with the babies to try to keep Anastasia happy. I was desperately playing with her to stave off crying: "Where's your nose? Boop! There's your nose! Where's your chin? Chin! Chinny-chin-chin!" It was tickling her chin that elicited the laugh: a chuckling, cooing, rolling laugh such as only a baby can give.
But perhaps the most exciting accomplishment of all was that she started reaching for things. As Matt put it, she discovered her hands at last! It's hard to pinpoint exactly when this happened, as it's a gradual process from flailing arms and reflex grabbing to actually reaching out and picking something up. However, it was Wednesday when I left her on the floor for a minute to go get something and came back to find her holding my sunglasses, which had been lying on the floor next to her, in her hand. Reflex? Maybe. But they are bright pink, a color she definitely enjoys looking at. At any rate, by the time we were driving home, I felt like I had a different baby than the one I'd brought on the trip up. She spent an hour sitting in her carseat happily playing with a few brightly colored tissue papers from a present her great-grandparents gave her. I folded them into a kind of mobile and held them in front of her, and she batted at them and fingered them with great interest. She also enjoyed playing with a beanie baby crab from her great-aunt: I held it so the legs dangled down, and she batted at them and pulled them into her mouth. She's turning into a real baby at last!
Now if only I could catch some of these brilliant accomplishments on video...
We spent Friday night at Matt's parents' house with his brother Jeff and Jeff's wife Heidi, along with their two children, Isaac and Olivia. Olivia was born two days before Anastasia, so we were excited to introduce the cousins to each other! -- more excited, probably, than they were. Although we did manage to get some video footage of them smiling at each other.
Saturday morning, as we were all getting ourselves and the babies ready to go out to the cabin where the reunion would be, Matt decided to put Anastasia under a little toy of Olivia's. It's a mobile that sits on the ground with dangling toys, music, and flashing lights--exactly the kind of toy I never want to own. But Matt thought it would be fun to see how Anastasia reacted to it, so he put her on her back under the mobile while I was about to go get dressed. I stopped to see what she would do.
She didn't seem particularly interested in it, but she didn't mind it, either. She lay there cooing and looking at Matt, ignoring the flashing lights and the toys. Then she rolled on her side, maybe to get away from the lights, or maybe to get closer to Matt. She's been rolling onto her side from her back for quite a while, so none of us thought anything of it. But then, after just a minute on her side, she kept going--all the way to her stomach!
Those of you who aren't parents might not understand why this is a big deal, but rolling over is a big developmental milestone. Naturally, Anastasia is very young to be achieving this--most babies don't roll over until they're four months. But I never could have predicted exactly how exciting this would be for me. "Oh my gosh!" I shouted. "She rolled over! She rolled over! I can't believe it! She rolled all the way over! Anastasia, you're so clever!"
Matt and Jeff were a little startled by my shouting. To tell the truth, I was a little startled myself. "Uh, is it really that big a deal?" Matt asked uncertainly.
"It's a huge deal! This is an important developmental milestone!" I appealed to Jeff, since he's been a father now for almost two years. "Jeff, tell him what a big deal it is!"
"Uh, it's kinda like graduating college, or getting married," Jeff agreed obligingly.
"I see." Matt looked down at Anastasia, who was starting to cry because she couldn't get her arm out from under her.
"Heidi!" I shouted up the stairs. Maybe this was something only another mother could understand.
Heidi was appropriately excited for Anastasia and me, but by the end of the week, I don't think anyone could quite appreciate just how significant the accomplishment had been. Because that was only the beginning. Over the course of the week, Anastasia gradually started staying awake for longer periods--and sleeping for longer naps. Instead of being awake for an hour and then sleeping for an hour constantly throughout the day, she started having a two-hour period in the afternoon when she was awake--and more surprising, happy. Then she took a two-hour nap in the late afternoon. She also started going to sleep more easily at night, and I was able to leave her once she was asleep and hang out downstairs for two hours (from 9 to 11) before she woke up to eat again.
She also amazed me by going holding her pee for longer stretches--especially at night. One morning I got up at 4:30 am, thinking her restlessness was because she needed to go to the bathroom, to discover she had a completely dry diaper. And the first morning after we got back, she was still dry when I changed her at 8 am. It's not a pattern yet, but I'm hoping that soon we'll be able to go diaper-free at night with a towel for back-up!
On Friday she laughed for the first time--not the infant shriek she's been doing for a while, but a real, rolling, gurgling laugh. Olivia's first laugh was also this week, three days earlier, so Heidi and I got to enjoy that together. But the strangest part about that was that Anastasia's first laugh was in the car, and she hates the car. Heidi, Jeff, Olivia, Anastasia and I were going shopping, and I sat in back with the babies to try to keep Anastasia happy. I was desperately playing with her to stave off crying: "Where's your nose? Boop! There's your nose! Where's your chin? Chin! Chinny-chin-chin!" It was tickling her chin that elicited the laugh: a chuckling, cooing, rolling laugh such as only a baby can give.
But perhaps the most exciting accomplishment of all was that she started reaching for things. As Matt put it, she discovered her hands at last! It's hard to pinpoint exactly when this happened, as it's a gradual process from flailing arms and reflex grabbing to actually reaching out and picking something up. However, it was Wednesday when I left her on the floor for a minute to go get something and came back to find her holding my sunglasses, which had been lying on the floor next to her, in her hand. Reflex? Maybe. But they are bright pink, a color she definitely enjoys looking at. At any rate, by the time we were driving home, I felt like I had a different baby than the one I'd brought on the trip up. She spent an hour sitting in her carseat happily playing with a few brightly colored tissue papers from a present her great-grandparents gave her. I folded them into a kind of mobile and held them in front of her, and she batted at them and fingered them with great interest. She also enjoyed playing with a beanie baby crab from her great-aunt: I held it so the legs dangled down, and she batted at them and pulled them into her mouth. She's turning into a real baby at last!
Now if only I could catch some of these brilliant accomplishments on video...
5.20.2008
routines
Last night Anastasia slept two three-hour stretches and only woke up once (at 2:20) between 11:00 pm and 5:45 am. I feel SO good this morning! Two long stretches of sleep...
I have a feeling her schedule might start to change soon, so I should remember what it's been while she was a newborn. Usually she goes to bed at 8:00 and wakes every two hours to eat, at 10, 12, 2, 4, and 6. At 6 or 6:30 she would want to be awake for a while and play, but I'm always far too tired, so either I lie there and watch her coo and giggle, wishing I had the energy to play with her, or I wake Matt up and let him bond with her. At 8 she nurses back to sleep until 10. Then she's awake for about an hour and nurses back to sleep around 11:30. She takes a longer nap then, till around 2 or 2:30. She wakes up to eat; then she plays until 3:30 or 4, when she gets fussy and tired. Usually I lie down with her to nap until Matt gets home around 6. Then he plays with her until I put her to bed.
She pees every twenty minutes when she's awake in the morning but only every hour in the afternoon, and right when she wakes up.
And now that we've only just gotten comfortable with that schedule, it looks like things will be changing. The past couple of days she's been staying awake longer and waking up sooner, and I think she might be spreading out her eating a little bit too during the day. And her bathroom patterns are definitely changing, although I haven't figured out the new patterns yet, and I'm keeping her completely diaper-free during the day until I do.
Maybe she's about to hit a developmental milestone; I've heard these kind of changes can be a prelude for that.
I have a feeling her schedule might start to change soon, so I should remember what it's been while she was a newborn. Usually she goes to bed at 8:00 and wakes every two hours to eat, at 10, 12, 2, 4, and 6. At 6 or 6:30 she would want to be awake for a while and play, but I'm always far too tired, so either I lie there and watch her coo and giggle, wishing I had the energy to play with her, or I wake Matt up and let him bond with her. At 8 she nurses back to sleep until 10. Then she's awake for about an hour and nurses back to sleep around 11:30. She takes a longer nap then, till around 2 or 2:30. She wakes up to eat; then she plays until 3:30 or 4, when she gets fussy and tired. Usually I lie down with her to nap until Matt gets home around 6. Then he plays with her until I put her to bed.
She pees every twenty minutes when she's awake in the morning but only every hour in the afternoon, and right when she wakes up.
And now that we've only just gotten comfortable with that schedule, it looks like things will be changing. The past couple of days she's been staying awake longer and waking up sooner, and I think she might be spreading out her eating a little bit too during the day. And her bathroom patterns are definitely changing, although I haven't figured out the new patterns yet, and I'm keeping her completely diaper-free during the day until I do.
Maybe she's about to hit a developmental milestone; I've heard these kind of changes can be a prelude for that.
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