Clara's first birthday

Clara is one!

(yay!!)

This month we've been dealing with her changing sleep schedule.  Some
days she is like the "good old days" when she goes to bed with very
little fuss after our standard bed routine (bath, bottle, book (brush
teeth) then sleep.  Some days (especially with the lost hour this past
weekend) she stays up til 9 PM (or later!), tired but refusing to
sleep unless there is someone in the room with her.    The cry-it-out
technique doesn't work too well because she has figured how to make
herself throw up when she gets very upset (and who wants a baby to
pass out from exhaustion in their own spit up? so we have to go in and
change all the sheets etc if it gets to this point).  The good news is
she is sleeping 12 hour blocks with a good 3 hour nap.

We started a new activity for Clara--gym class! It was awesome the
first night since she came home so exhausted she went right to bed (no
such luck after tonight's class).  She is the youngest in the class
(the only time we could attend is really meant for slightly older
babies--or at least babies who walk well, and Clara is still in the
cruising stage.)   We have a circle activity (she spends a fair amount
of time studying the other kids and pointing out the pictures of
cookie monster and elmo on the walls).   Afterwards, there are a few
obstacle courses, her favorite is a little sloped bridge with handles
on each side, so she can "walk" without our support by holding on to
the rails.  She is not a big fan of the parachute game afterwards
(afraid when it falls to close to her head) but loves the bubbles and
stamp at the end.  They sang "Happy Birthday" on Tuesday and she got
a special birthday stamp :)

One of the many late nights, Clara was sitting up in her crib and out
of no where started clapping.  She started giggling and I shouted for
Jason to come up and see (he has been trying to teach her this for
several months).  She loves to point, especially to photos of us.  She
is always wanting to know what things are called, using the universal
"grunt and point."  She loves to learn, always trying to "read" a book
(aka turn pages, point to things and talk to herself).  She has
learned how to use her stacking colored "doughnuts."  She watches a
few minutes of Elmo every day and on weekends watches a little "Dora
la exploradora" on the Spanish channel.  Most of the time though, she
would rather be exploring her world, and especially Picaso's cage.  We
haven't purchased and push/pull toys yet, but she still manages to
push everything she can.  She likes to climb the stairs (but can't go
downstairs yet).  She's a busy girl these days!

Clara remains a good eater, still eating whatever we eat (she's a big
fan of tomato sauce).   We haven't really transitioned to a cup yet
(she does use a cup with a straw and I guess we'll have to make the
transition sooner than later) and I think the bedtime bottle will be
the last to go (our crutch to get her to sleep).  She can use a spoon
when she wants to (ie. when she is hungry) but other times will just
throw the spoon to the ground knowing that we'll feed her and she
doesn't have to go through the hassle of bringing the spoon to her
mouth.

Yesterday we went to the pediatrician's office for her well-child check
and some shots (poor thing). She cried but forget about it when the doctor handed her a Little Mermaid band-aid. Her growth percentiles were 95th for height and 75th for weight so she is healthy growing baby.

adventures in separation anxiety

So Clara use to sleep without much difficulty, bottle, book, blanket, bed. (Altogether we use to spend about a half hour winding down together). We use to walk out when she was still awake but starting to get sleepy.

Well, that all changed about a week ago when instead of just falling asleep on her own when we left the room, she cries non-stop til we return. Standing up, screaming, and inconsolable. Part of the problem could be Clara being sick with a cold. She doesn't even want to be held,just wants to have one of us close to her crib. Last night I tried the standard "cry it out" thing for about 15 minutes and when I went back into the room she was in the middle of tasting fingers in her mouth. Unfortunately these same fingers triggered her gag reflex just in time to get vomit all over me.

The other thing is that she use to sleep 12 hours, regardless of what time she'd go to bed she'd stay in bed for 12 hours. Now, doesn't matter how late she goes to bed, she is always up by 7:30 AM (sometimes with dark circles under her eyes).

The one good thing is that overall she stays asleep once she falls asleep but the 30 minute routine has ballooned into a 2.5 hr routine. Eventually she finally falls asleep, but it's definitely a struggle. I stay in the room with her sometimes and be asleep myself by 7:30 only to wake up close to 8 PM and see her still wide awake, standing, and slightly fussing.

Any one else notice changes in their sleep patterns when your ittle one was around one year old?

11 months old

Clara is almost 11 months old!

She is getting more and more mobile. She seems to know that wooden floors are fun to crawl on, army crawling along on her tummy. She also likes to stand up and use the bars to hold onto as she walks laps inside her crib. She loves to “dance” and clap and point and sing (a very high pitched sound).

At meal times her food is scooped up into a spoon and placed on her high chair tray, then she has to put the spoon into her mouth. It’s a lot messier than when we feed her, but she does a decent job (sometimes she goes on strike and throws the spoon on the floor, knowing she’ll get spoon fed by one of us). She eats pretty much everything (we’re holding off on peanuts and eggs for now), the other night she had lasagna (she loved it) and sweet potatoes. Trying to get her to use a cup is a little more challenging, not sure if all the coordination is there yet, she can hold the cup to her mouth but sometimes misses her mouth and pours the liquid on her chin instead (we are using only water til she masters this, as milk would be even more of a mess to clean).

Her schedule has changed quite a bit, mostly as she is down to one nap per day. She wakes up after 12 hours of sleeping (usually around 8 AM or so), gets a bottle of milk then oatmeal (with cinnamon and bananas, yum!) and of course cheerios (the staple finger food). Then she gets bundled up to go out for a walk. Wednesdays is her walk to the library for Story Hour. She comes home and plays a little, often on the floor covered with mats so it’s not as hard to sit on. Around 11:30 AM she gets lunch, often a mushed up vegetable, then a fruit and maybe little pieces of cheese mixed with her cheerios. Then it’s nap time from 12 to 3 (although the first hour is often spent cruising inside the crib until she wears herself out and falls asleep). Upon waking up she is given another bottle and sits down to play again. (and of course the afternoon walk for Picaso’s sake). I get home around 5:30 and we get ready for dinner. Afterwards she gets a bath then a bottle, followed by a futile attempt of brushing her teeth (she use to like this now pushes the brush out with her tongue) a short story, then she is left to fall asleep.

We’re relieved she’s not walking yet as we still (I know I know) have not baby-proofed. But, she is under almost constant supervision so if and when she does take her first steps, one of us will be there to watch and start frantically getting things out of her way!

10 months old

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3zlfai7tZQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09c14C7TvM4

Clara turned 10 months old a couple of days ago. To celebrate, she

stood up for the first time (pulling herself onto the couch). She is

able to sit without any assistance (and spends much of her "nap" time

sitting up in her crib playing and trying to stand up in her crib).

We still have to get the house baby-proofed (how long have I been

saying that now?) but it seems that she may soon be more mobile.

We are trying to teach her to feed herself. She is getting pretty

good at spoon-feeding herself (especially when she's hungry, when

she's full she tends to just play with the spoon) and can drink out of

a cup, but isn't very good at holding the cup (not surprising since

she doesn't hold her own bottle) so when she tries to give herself a

drink it ends up on her chin rather than her mouth (so close, but so

far away). Good thing her bumpkins bibs are so easy to clean up (and

they catch the extra liquid in the front pocket).

Clara's favorite book is "Are you my mother?" which she carries around

with her (and likes to "read" by flipping the pages and whispering the

story to herself). She also likes anything by Eric Carle (known for

his "hungry catepillar" book). We go to the library every other week

and she is allowed to pick out two books (I pick out the other eight).

Her selections are often interesting (her very first one a few months

ago was on the Passover. This week one of them was one we had

previously checked out a few weeks ago, "Sheila Rae's Peppermint

Stick" by Kevin Henkes).

The weather has improved a bit this past week so we can go out for long walks

again (she loves being outside). On colder days she mainly hangs out

on the porch with Jason to feed the birds. We are now using the

"backpack" feature of the Ergo Carrier. It is still quite comfortable

(despite her almost 22 lbs) but I'm apprehensive about getting her out

of it (easiest to do when standing above a soft surface, like a couch

or the bed).

Clara's official first word seems to be "Itaac" (her grandfather's

name is Isaac), although it's probably a tie with "Da-da" (ma-ma would

be a far distant third, she tends to use it only when she's really

upset, like getting her diaper changed when she'd rather keep

playing).

She continues to sleep well, up to 12 hours per night, but her naps

have become brief, some days even non-existent. She naps much

better for Jason, twice a day for 30 minutes to max of 2 hours per

nap. I am lucky if I can get her to nap once for an hour (while

carrying her in the Ergo carrier). When I do try to get her to nap

in her crib, she appears to be falling asleep then will sit up and

giggle and fight sleep by playing in her crib. Once she has become

completely exhausted she'll often pass out still in the sitting

position but head down against the mattress.

Jason has posted some video of Clara's crib antics and of her first

day standing up!

From the sketchbook

Here's a few gesture studies of Clara during playtime.

9-months

Clara is officially 9 months old!

Per the pediatrician, she is in the 75th percentile for weight and
height (she looks quite tall compared to her standard sized crib!)

We visited the relatives in Iowa last week. Clara loved meeting with
her cousins! Her first night in town she was so excited she couldn't
fall asleep and kept on wanting to play with them (til 1 AM her
time!!) She was given a glow-worm which reminded me of the one I had
when I was little. She loves this toy and intently stares at it when
it plays its brief lullaby. When visiting her other cousins she was a
little sleepy from the day before, but still seemed to be awake enough
to become wide-eyed at her new Sesame street cell phone and remote
control (she loves these and I save them for changing time to keep her
occupied).

What a difference a month makes! While in Iowa she learned to wave
goodbye!! She loves interacting with people, even strangers in the
airport (I've heard this will change once "Stranger anxiety" takes
over). Yesterday Jason walked into her room and found her sitting up
completely on her own (she will still throw herself backwards so we
worry she'll hit her head, but so far so good). She likes to play on
her own, playing with her stacking cups (ie. banging them together) or
in her exersaucer (lent to us by a friend). She is almost an expert
at picking up cheerios with her thumb and index finger. She enjoys
whatever solids she is given (most recently she had Channa Masala with
silvered almonds and lemon rice, they were ground up using our Food
Mill). She has two little teeth (and loves having them brushed,
hopefully she'll enjoy flossing too when she is a little older).

She does not crawl, but rather rolls towards whatever object she wants
that is out of reach. She is able to cruise but not pull herself up
to stand, so we are still able to keep a good eye on her. We have had
our gates for 1 month now but still haven't installed them! In the
meanwhile, we're determined to get baby proofed before another month
passes by.

from Snug ride to Britax

Clara is 8 months old!

Clara has officially graduated from her Graco Snug Ride to her Britax
Roundabout.   She weighs about 20 lbs. We recently purchased
her winter wardrobe at "Tried but True" a good children's second hand store
(much more affordable than buying them brand new!).  We also purchased her first pair
of shoes from Run Kai Run (thanks to my mom for the gift!) which stay
on great as she “walks” all around the house.  She loves to chase
after Picaso (poor dog!) and is small enough to fit into his cage so
she likes to hold onto his cage entrance (while I hover right next to
her making sure she doesn’t fall).

She is happy to be sitting in her pack-and-play by herself, playing
with her stacking rings and toy cell phone.  (She has a bad habit of
just throwing herself backwards when she gets tired of sitting so we
put her boppy pillow in back of her just in case).   She still loves
Elmo, especially watching “elmo’s song” on YouTube.  Jason knows her
daily routine better, but when she’s with me, after getting some milk
in the AM, she has some cereal (oatmeal) and plays with cheerios on
her high chair tray.   The ones that miss her mouth end up on the
floor!   She finishes breakfast with more milk then heads off for her
morning walk in the ergo carrier or her stroller (depending on the
weather).  We read a book together then dance to her Spanish
CDs and she usually gets tired so she gets a bottle and takes a nap.
The afternoon quickly passes by with dinner (we use the KidCo FoodMill
to grind whatever we’re eating, often spaghetti), Yo Baby yogurt, and
more cheerios!

The best part of the day is whenever she smiles or laughs.  She often
gets to sleep between 7:30 and 8:30 PM and will stay asleep for 12
hours (but this is the average! On daylight savings night she slept
14.5 hrs!! A couple of days ago she woke up at 2 AM but went back to
sleep in a few minutes).

She still puts everything and anything in her mouth, from her bib to
her washcloth to her onesie, it all goes to the the same spot. She is truly a delight!