10 Months

I meant to update what yum-yum was up to every month. But from 6 month - 10 months, no a lot changes. In every single month, there are a few things that I can continue to say:

- she eats a lot
- she is very babbly
- she is learning little things every day
- she can't crawl or anything but she sure is trying

However, I can say a few fun things. She can make farting sounds with her mouth. I consider this paternity proof. She can make a lot of consonant sounds and can mimic sounds. She said "key-key" when talking about the kitty.

sleep

I feel pretty strongly that we shouldn't force you to do things simply for our convenience. But, sleep is probably the area where I'm willing to make an exception. You have been waking up every 2 hours or so for the past 5 months, and since Dad is gone at night, I'm dying. I look forward to Dad's days off, Thursday and Friday: the two nights I get to sleep. But, despite this, I haven't tried to "force" you to sleep, or let you cry excessively. If you need me, I am there for you. And I do it with a smile, often staying awake an extra few minutes to watch you fall back to sleep.

But, on 8/7 everything changed. (So far.) We set up your crib in the next room, so you no longer sleep next to mommy. You seem to love having your own space and go to sleep pretty well in there. And you have to really need me in order to wake me up enough to get out of bed and come to you. So for those times when you just need a little reassurance, you cry a bit, find your pacifier on your own, and go back to sleep. I am sort of aware that this is going on, but it's not happening loud enough to pull me into consciousness, so I am getting some sleep. And you are learning how to console yourself. It's win-win.

You still need me in the night, and I still get up with you. But the other night, when I came to feed you, you were SITTING UP! Of course, you have known how to sit up for a while, but you have not sat up from lying down by yourself that we know of until now.

It just feels like you are growing up so fast.

5 months of milestones

Zola Jane, you are like a slot machine. You keep chiming, we put stuff in the top of you, tug on your arms and legs a lot, and stuff comes out your bottom, and despite the fact that over the long run, we will spend more energy, money, and love than you could ever know... you're addicting.

You're also at a very gratifying age where every few minutes, you learn how to manipulate your muscles in a new way... I feel like I am constantly discovering something new you can do.

You can hold your toys, reach out and grab things within your reach, and throw things. You can hold onto your feet and roll about half-way over (you haven't figured out how to move your bottom arm to get the rest of the way.)You started eating solid foods about two weeks ago. You have had rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, and barley cereal now. Oatmeal is your favorite. And you tried a mixed grain (all three) and really disliked it. At first, I was grinding the whole grains and cooking them over the stove for you. But, I decided that even though it's not fresh, the instant one is a better deal for you -- because it means you get more time to spend with your mama. This means that your poops are more spectacular than ever. Every so often, your diaper explodes so forcefully, that your poop hits you in the face. This has happened often enough that we have a name for it: "chin diapers." But even covered in poop, you are cute as can be. And we enjoy giving you baths, because you sing and kick the water so happily.
We sleep with you in the family bed and you take up half the bed with your arms and legs stretched out as far as humanly possible for such a little baby. Luckily, since mom and dad work opposite shifts, you are never sharing with more than one person at a time. We occasionally let you sleep in your bassinet so you don't develop sleep habits that aren't sustainable (we won't always be able to sleep in bed with you.) But, for now, this is the best situation to support our efforts to breastfeed you as long as possible.... mama doesn't have to wake up as fully this way.

Your core stomach muscles are seriously strong! Yesterday, you went from partially reclined on your back to pulling yourself into an upright seated position before you toppled forward onto your legs. You can also hold your upper body upright so you can look forward and upward when you are laying on your tummy for a really, really long time.

We have a Russian friend, Tatyana, who comes by a few afternoons a week to take you for a long walk. You love her because she is very talkative and attentive and fills your day with lots of adventures.

Lastly, you are really packing on the chub. I love it. Your legs and arms look like sausage casings... little rubber band folds creating toe-jam hide-y-holes. And you have no wrist. Just little hands jutting out of the end of a disproportionate forearm (I'm guessing 3:1 size ratio). I intentionally bought you mostly one-piece outfits in this size (6 month) that are short enough to show off your leg creases. A case in point... I threw out my back, had to go have it looked at and have had to work from home so I can lay down and put ice on it. How? You might ask. Lifting that chubby baby, is how.

dada

You have been making lots of practice speech sounds: mostly vowels and grunts. I expressed some concern to your dad the other day that I haven't heard you utter any consonants, yet. You're only just four months old, and you are jabbering so much that it was only a matter of time.

I'm so glad I came home from work for lunch today. Your dad was holding you on his lap while I ate and you just popped out with "dada." We both looked at each other immediately with expressions on our faces like, "DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT, TOO?" But, your dad was beaming. Now he says "dada" to you almost contantly

eight o'clock

Since you were two weeks old until just a week or two ago, you were extremely predictable. At exactly 8 o'clock p.m. pacific time, you would totally freak out. You relentlessly fussed, cried, punched the air, and otherwise lost your cool for about two hours each evening until you finally cried yourself to sleep. It was sort of funny to us, because from the moment you woke up until 8 pm, you could not have been happier, sweeter, and more contented with life. Until the Hour.

We tried everything to figure out what this was about. I stopped eating various foods in an attempt to see if you were having some kind of food reaction. We started routines to help you get tired and fall asleep easier in case you were just tired and not getting to bed early enough. We did tummy exercises in case you had swallowed too much air. We were stumped. And it was heartbreaking and exhausting to bounce, sway, sing, and console this poor, sad version of you when nothing helped.

Eventually, we just blamed the clock and made sure that we were well-rested and ready to do our best to make you feel comfortable and loved during this difficult time for you.

It's eight o'clock as I write this. We played toys until you were worn out, and you happily fell to sleep in my arms without a tear. You've outgrown 8 o'clock. I can't say I will miss the crying. But, I sort of got to enjoy the swaying, singing, cuddling, and holding that you don't need as much anymore. And it made watching you sigh in your sleep all the more peaceful.

returning to work

I have left you and your dad to sort out how you will get along without me while I'm away for the day. I've missed you and plastered my desk with photos of you. But, I've resisted the urge to go home and see you - even though my office is just five minutes away.

But, it's been a few weeks. You and your dad have struck some kind of truce. So, I went home at lunch to see you guys. Your dad had you laying on his legs while he "exercised" you. He pulls your arms and legs and you playfully resist. And you were just so blissed out: smiling, flailing, vibrating with excitement. I don't know why I was worried.

You two are going to be just fine. Your dad may be a rookie, but he loves you like crazy. He plays with you all day.

The other day I called him to see how you were doing. He said he couldn't talk because you needed him. But he didn't hang up. He just set the phone down. So I listened to you cry. And I listened to him thoughtfully console you. It was so sweet to spy into how you guys are together when I'm not there. You don't cut him any breaks because he's new at this. But, he's learning fast. And doing great.