A Girl Named PJ

look at what my hands can do!

October 31, 2011

He may not be sleeping through the night yet, but Levi is certainly developing other skills. Around the time he turned three-months-old I noticed him starting to reach for objects like his pacifier clip and the wooden toys attached to his BabyBjorn Babysitter. It’s amazing to watch him purposefully try to grab an object or stick his fingers in his mouth. It’s like he’s just starting to understand what his hands can do!

Right now he can only really grip soft items like blankets and clothing. Oh, and my hair. He loves to hold on tight to mama’s locks. I pressed Sophie the Giraffe into his palm, and he curled his fingers around her, waving her in the air for just a few seconds. She may be a bit too big for his tiny hands to grasp at the moment, but he’s working on it.

What developmental milestones have your little ones recently reached?

uppababy vista

October 27, 2011

As you know, I did a lot of stroller research before Levi was born and ultimately decided on the UPPAbaby Vista stroller, which we received as a gift from my in-laws. It turned out to be the perfect stroller for our suburban lifestyle–it folds up easily, it feels substantial but is not too heavy and it is compatible with the Chicco KeyFit car seat.

Today, UPPAbaby strollers are on sale at Zulily for $295 off. Yes, they are still a bit pricey, but I think they’re worth it. I have a feeling we’ll be using our for years to come!

is it my fault that my baby doesn’t sleep?

October 26, 2011

When I was pregnant, I went out of my way to avoid the comparison game that many expectant mothers play. For example, I stood backwards on the scale at my doctor’s office so that I wouldn’t see how much weight I gained. If I didn’t know the number, I couldn’t boast or complain about it.

So why can’t I stop comparing myself to other moms? Specifically, I’m feeling down on myself because Levi doesn’t sleep through the night yet. He’s still waking up every couple of hours and usually requires a brief feeding to calm down and fall back to sleep. Just last night, he went to bed at 7:45pm and awoke at 12:40am, 3:40am and 5:20am. I put him back down at 5:40am because I was just not ready to start my day before 6am. I am not an early bird.

When I read about other babies his age (or younger!) who stay asleep for 10-12 hours, I can’t help but judge my own parenting abilities. What are those moms doing that I’m not to help their infants snooze? Did they follow advice in a parenting book that I haven’t read? Are they just innately better at following schedules and routines?

Logically, I know that it’s Levi, not me, who directs his own circadian rhythms and that he will reach this milestone on his own time. Still, I feel somewhat like a failure because I can’t get him to stay asleep from 7pm to 7am, and I know there are 8-week-olds out there who sleep in 8 hour chunks. Of course, these irrational thoughts of mine are probably being exacerbated by the fact that I’m sleep deprived from repeatedly waking up with him.

(I would ask JB to get up and check on Levi in the middle of the night if he wasn’t, you know, deployed and all.)

Rather than asking how many hours at a time your baby sleeps, I want to know if you ever find yourself judging your own parenting abilities. What do you do when you start comparing yourself to other moms?

(image via {johnson journal})

levi’s monthly baby photo (three months old)

October 24, 2011

Dear Levi,

You are three months old! Some major milestones have taken place these past four weeks. One day, early in the month, I noticed that most of the hair you were born with had been replaced with short, soft fuzz. You still have some random strands, the longest pieces at your temples, and they are so goofy looking!

But you want to know what’s not so funny? Your near-daily blowouts. We quickly bumped you up to size 2 diapers, hoping they would prevent your messy poops from staining your pajamas. They don’t! This month you got your first pedicure and didn’t seem to mind me clipping your paper thin toenails. Sometimes, though, you cry real tears when you get super worked up, and it makes me so sad! You also make funny lip smacking noises, but I’m not sure if that’s considered a developmental milestone.

When 5pm rolls around, you and I enjoy a little bit of playtime before you take a brief nap, have a bath and eat. Your unofficial bedtime is between 7-8pm, and that’s when I put you down in your crib. Yes, your crib! Daddy and I made an impromptu decision at the end of September to move you into your nursery. You are so happy to have all that extra room while you sleep, and you’re always wriggling around now since you are no longer swaddled.

But I think your most exciting advancement this month is that you have started laughing! The first time I made you laugh was by shaking a glowing light and a rattle in your face–and I recorded it on video! I take tons of short home movies of you with my iPhone because I don’t want to forget how you looked, sounded and acted at any stage. You’re already growing up too quickly!

xoxo

***********

I’ll be photographing Levi on the 12th of every month to document his growth this first year. He’ll be wearing a numbered white onesie corresponding to his age in months, sitting in a chair next to his blabla doll for continuity.

This photo was taken two weeks ago on Levi’s three month birthday. It’s taken me this long to post because JB was recently deployed, and I’m too tired to blog after working a full day and then taking care of Levi. But I miss it–and you! Hopefully I’ll learn how to better juggle responsibilities and balance my time as a single mama. Any suggestions?

See Levi’s two month and one month photos here.

what do babies think?

October 11, 2011

A co-worker passed along a link to “What Do Babies Think?,” a TED talk presented by psychologist Alison Gopnik. She describes babies and young children as “the R&D division of the human species” and discusses the type of intelligence-gathering and decision-making that happens during play.

I frequently wonder what Levi is thinking, especially now that he is a day away from turning 3-months-old. Whoa! What brain synapses are forming when he is kicking under his activity mat, spinning the wooden toys on his Baby Bjorn Babysitter or listening to children’s music on Pandora? How is he being influenced by every little noise he hears or situation he sees? Will Levi be affected in some way because he’s been in the room while we’ve watched Law & Order: SVU? Project Runway?

Gopnik explains that babies understand far more than we realize. They are constantly engaging all of their senses as they observe, analyze and file away information about the world around them. My favorite line from the 18-minute video is this: “What’s it like to be a baby? It’s like being in love in Paris for the first time after you’ve had 3 double espressos.”