Day 109

Ellie is fifteen weeks and four days old today.  Nitin and I agree that more and more, we can see the wheels turning in that sweet fuzzy head of hers.  She is fascinated by images of herself in the mirror, and likes to bat her hand at that very familiar baby.  Naturally, it comes as a surprise when the baby turns out to feel like a hard surface!  She still enjoys singing and is at her most cheerful in the morning.  I notice her clearly scanning the room for me much more, and she notices very readily if a parent is staring at a device rather than her!

She is growing physically, too, closer and closer to sitting up without assistance, and fairly adept at sitting while propped up by her boppy pillow or another support.  Her physical therapist said at her appointment on Tuesday that her torticolis is resolving well and she may be army crawling soon!  She is so eager to get up and go, to sit upright and take everything in -- this will not be a child who waits while the world passes by.

I think more and more about what we can do to enrich her experiences, to provide security and stimulation, to teach her and support her.  I have fretted because I have so often abandoned or delayed my well intentioned ideas to spur my own development.  I worry that routines and structure, which children need so much, are not my strong suit.  But I believe that as a family, we can make habits and rituals to secure and buoy our most precious values.  We just need to know what those are, make our plans, and stick to them.

And we cannot try to do too much at once.  I do not fully know what the slow parenting movement is, but it sounds like a concept that I would find sensible.  What type of childhood should we provide?  I want to light up her world with music, swimming lessons, museums, puppet shows, exposure to different cultures and foods.  I want to give her the solid rock of an unshakable family as her foundation -- the unconditional love of her parents, the warm embrace of her grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousin, the enduring friendship of a dog.  And I want her to feel a sense of belonging to her community -- church, school and other family friends -- that will allow her to safely discover herself and learn about others.  We want to give her lullabies and summer afternoons in the sticky grass of her own yard.

We will do our best, one day at a time! This week was lively, with visits from Ellie's Nani, physical therapy, and time spent with auntie Beth to celebrate her birthday! Along the way, we took a few pictures...

Return of the pacifier! Pacifiers are making a comeback and Ellie is sometimes able to hold them in her mouth with her hand.  She is improving at self soothing.  When a pacifier is not available, she will often suck on fingers instead!

Take a look at this giggling baby!  Maybe she gets a kick out of polka dots.

The weather was lovely earlier this week, and we spent time in the yard with Beth and Zoe!  We even wore our sun hats for the occasion.

After all that excitement, we were pretty wiped!  

The next day, it was chilly again and we spent the day indoors!  Ellie tried out some new moves on her activity mat.  She is so much more interested in the hanging toys than she was just a few weeks ago.

What a precious sweetheart.  Like all of us, she likes to begin the day by lounging in bed.

I have been reading up on many topics, but the topic of the week has been establishing a feeding and sleep routine.  The theory is that Ellie should have four feedings per day, two naps, and a twelve hour sleep stretch at night.  It sounds ambitious to me, but we are back to logging sleep and feeding.  It will benefit everyone to establish a routine, particularly with me returning to work soon.  Paradoxically, when everyone knows what to expect, we actually have more freedom to make plans. 

A big highlight of our week -- we took our plant-loving baby to the Botanic Garden downtown, and she was enthralled!  It was also lovely to experience the warm weather in the tropical room.  I suspect this will be the first of many visits.  Ellie was excited to explore by touching flowers and leaves, and the various fountains grabbed her attention.

This week, we may be getting a snowstorm, and Ellie will meet another Ellie -- my dear friend Elizabeth.  And next Saturday, Ellie will reunite with the PACE babies for a St Patrick's Day brunch on Sunday.  And by then, will we be well on our way to spring?