Cause and effect

Lillian is starting to really use her hands.  There have been several points in her life thus far at which we have noticed new hands-related abilities (looking at them, stuffing them into her mouth, grabbing the neckline of my shirt when eating as if she’s worried I’ll put her down before she’s done) but this one is most exciting to date - she’s begun to pick up items on her own, hold onto them for extended periods of time, and manipulate them.  She wears a look of intense concentration, it seems like she is making the connection that it is her hands that are causing an object to move. We’ve brought out our Sophie the Giraffe, rounded up a few rattles, and are scanning the house for the many toys she has been given that she can now use.  

What Lillian is still not doing: napping (at least with any consistency)!  When she does happen to nod off for any longer than a few minutes, she wakes up in tears as if upset that she accidentally missed out on even a brief portion of her day.  We’re trying to practice better habits about getting Lillian settled in her crib throughout the day before she gets overly tired, to little success thus far.  Thank goodness she sleeps fairly well at night!  And I was encouraged by a mom we met at at our library’s Books for Babies program, who told us her daughter had similar napping habits as Lillian at her age, but suddenly started accepting naps at six months.  Here’s hoping.

Three months

Last Friday, Lillian turned three months old!

She keeps growing and growing - at last weigh-in (last Monday), she was 14 pounds 12.5 ounces!  She's outgrowing her 3-6 month onesies and sleepers, so we're transitioning to the next size up.  Until now, we've had her in sleepers day and night, but her 6-9 month wardrobe includes a few big kid outfits - here she is in her first dress (a gift from our Irish relatives, Robert and Sheila - thank you!)  Dressing a little girl is going to be fun.  We also discovered the H&M in town carries a baby line - excellent!

We've been dealing with the three month growth spurt this past week as well - lots of feeding, lots of fussiness.  The last two days have been better; last night Lillian slept 10 hours!  She also, for the first time ever, had a nap this afternoon in her crib.  She's been sleeping in her crib at night for a week or so and it was an easy transition, but naps have been a challenge no matter where in the house she is.  Normally the only daytime sleep she gets is if I take her out in the car seat.

Hopefully today's sleep schedule sets a pattern - well-rested, she's been in a great mood today, and it would be nice to spend more time at home.  Maybe I could even get back to work on thank you notes!

New Skills

Sorry for the lack of posting recently.  Lillian has been a great night sleeper, but, like her mom, not big on napping during the day.  The exception is if we go out with her in her carseat - she sleeps great in there - but when since we’re out, I can’t spend that time on things like writing posts.  Oh well.  Although I have nothing to compare her too, I suspect  we’re lucky to have such a good baby.  

She’s been doing well.  She loves looking at things, and is more and more interested in the world around her by the day.  Often when she is fussy, I think it’s related to frustration at lacking the ability to interact more with her surroundings.  For her father and I, it means a lot of walking around the house with her high up on our shoulders so she can look around.  We’ve been doing more tummy time, and she’ll tolerate about five or ten minutes propped up on a boppy pillow on her activity mat looking at the flashing, music-playing sun toy attached to that.  

We’ve also made it out to a couple sessions at the Early Years Centre, and she seems to really enjoy baby songs and nursery rhymes that we’ve learned there.  Head and Shoulders is a favourite, even though she can only reach as far down as her hips!   

This is the sort of smile Head and Shoulders elicits:

I am really looking forward to hearing her first laughs!