Maddie
We finally have a night time routine that works for all of us. She is doing really well sleeping on her own. I no longer nurse her in the middle of the night. She nurses before bed time, falls asleep on her own, and for the most part stays that way all night long. There are still nights when I have to get up to put the binky in, but I can practically do that in my sleep, and she almost always goes straight back to sleep without another peep.
She can also feed herself now!! A few weeks ago she could barely pick up cheerios and pieces of rice cake. Now she can pick them up and get them into her mouth!! She’s such a clever girl. She is also becoming more curious about what I feed her on a spoon. She used to open up and eat whatever I offered. Now she wants to touch it, feel it and taste it before she allows the spoon in her mouth. She’s also becoming curious about the breast, which is cause for mirth on my part. She is just so curious!! I love watching her examining, exploring and learning. EVERYTHING is an opportunity for learning right now. It is such a joy.
Last week she also learned that she can suck on the sippy cup and water comes out!! I’ve been giving her sips from a regular cup for months (she loves it!) but she’s nowhere near being able to drink from a regular cup on her own, so we started a sippy cup. At first she just pushed it away (she’s been rejecting a bottle now for at least a month). When she realized that water comes out, though, she was intrigued. She still needs practice picking it up and drinking by herself, but I let her play with the cup and I know she’ll figure it out.
The most fun, though, is she’s really found her voice. She babbles, growls, yells… just experiments with what sounds she can make. AND… she’s started saying Mama and Dada. And I’m pretty sure she knows what they mean!!! That is one of my favorite sounds right now. When she wakes up and wants someone to come get her out of the crib she starts saying, “Mama, Mamamama, Ma - Ma?” That makes 6:00 a.m. seem downright cheerful (ok, not quite, since I’m really not a morning person, but it’s pretty darn special!).
Parenting really is a joy. We are having so much fun. And Madeline is such a good baby! We truly are blessed.
She can also feed herself now!! A few weeks ago she could barely pick up cheerios and pieces of rice cake. Now she can pick them up and get them into her mouth!! She’s such a clever girl. She is also becoming more curious about what I feed her on a spoon. She used to open up and eat whatever I offered. Now she wants to touch it, feel it and taste it before she allows the spoon in her mouth. She’s also becoming curious about the breast, which is cause for mirth on my part. She is just so curious!! I love watching her examining, exploring and learning. EVERYTHING is an opportunity for learning right now. It is such a joy.
Last week she also learned that she can suck on the sippy cup and water comes out!! I’ve been giving her sips from a regular cup for months (she loves it!) but she’s nowhere near being able to drink from a regular cup on her own, so we started a sippy cup. At first she just pushed it away (she’s been rejecting a bottle now for at least a month). When she realized that water comes out, though, she was intrigued. She still needs practice picking it up and drinking by herself, but I let her play with the cup and I know she’ll figure it out.
The most fun, though, is she’s really found her voice. She babbles, growls, yells… just experiments with what sounds she can make. AND… she’s started saying Mama and Dada. And I’m pretty sure she knows what they mean!!! That is one of my favorite sounds right now. When she wakes up and wants someone to come get her out of the crib she starts saying, “Mama, Mamamama, Ma - Ma?” That makes 6:00 a.m. seem downright cheerful (ok, not quite, since I’m really not a morning person, but it’s pretty darn special!).
Parenting really is a joy. We are having so much fun. And Madeline is such a good baby! We truly are blessed.