Eleven months old and learning about "cold"

 
We're trying to teach Morgen about opposites these days, but sometimes I think we're just teaching her that the best toys are the things Mommy and Daddy get to play with. Take this pop can, for example. It's cold. But it's also pretty cool, especially when you figure out that you can drum on it with your tiny fingers. This exercise only serves to remind you that your fingers are fun to chew.

9 months!

Well, February has flown by. Despite several viruses and trips to emergency for fevers and associated conditions, Morgen has discovered her inner comedienne. She's a ham, ladies and gentlemen, She's a ham. More than this, she's a ham who likes to chew on things. Nothing is funnier than a face full of baby toy, after all. She's chewing on everything, especially when the item in question is itself questionable - like her "orange owl", for instance. We call it an owl, but no one knows what it is, really. And no one knows whether it would be a good idea or a bad idea for Morgen to chew on it. Angela perhaps can look into this for us. When Morgen was a newborn, this owl was the toy she first reached for, first held, and this was the toy that encouraged her to coo. Now, it's the one she prefers to hold in her mouth. She's also learned that she doesn't need her hands to hold it in this way. We'll need lots of help getting it away from her if she ever cuts a tooth. So far Morgen is all gums. That's pretty funny too, I suppose. 

Other toys are being used as hats, or as drums and rattles. She likes to kiss her toys, especially a hard plastic electronic "baby CD player" because it has a clearly presented smiley face painted on the front. If you come over and she thinks you're cute, you may get a kiss too.

Eight Months

Morgen is eight months old now. Well, actually she is eight months old and three days. This is her belated month-a-birthday post. I'm happy to say that her food strike appears to be over, and she is regaining some of the lost poundage with the assistance of a large silicon spoon that she teethes on in between bites. It's pretty cute. She still demands iron-fortified oatmeal and rice cereal at every meal though, so let's hope she keeps her fruit and veggie intake up or, well never mind.

With this latest birthday comes a few mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm having some nostalgia for the first few weeks of Morgen's life, when we were lost in a hazy, sort of mystified and sleep deprived fog and could carry her around all day and let her sleep on our stomachs as we lay on the couch.  She was so little then, and she seems so big now. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to the next stages of Morgen's life. She'll start feeding herself soon, maybe even with her favourite orange spoon. She'll start talking. She'll start chasing after the cat, and becoming the aggressor in the battle for daddy's lap. I'll return to school and get as much done as I can before Gavin finds a job. But lest I leave out the beauty that is the present: right now Morgen is giving big kisses and smiles, learning to give us high 5's, and stubbornly refusing to play on her tummy by exercising her right to roll over at every opportunity. She's thinking about adding some consonants to her vowels and squeaks. She's growing out of most of her 6 to 9 month outfits and spends most of her playtime demanding to be helped up onto her feet so she can tip forward in that adorable baby walk that for some reason reminds me of a zombie's stagger. Our lives are becoming a bit more balanced these days. Ever so slowly, we're starting to fall into our new family routine. What took you so long, you ask? I don't know. I can only repeat what a friend wrote to me recently - sometimes you never know how you will handle something until you actually live through it. There is still some headway to be made to make sure that Gavin and I find the time for each other that we need. But the babysitters are coming forward, and we're looking forward to showing them the diapers and heading out for a few hours of adult time. I'm loving Morgen at eight months. Yes, I loved her during months one through seven as well, but I'm feeling more myself these days. It's a bit of a relief. 

Land of Milk and Mommy

Gavin calls Minnesota the land of milk and honey, but lately, I feel like we've left that place and landed in the land of milk and mommy. Morgen has been a demanding little girl lately - after eating nearly no solid foods during her trip to Minnesota, she has decided that there is nothing like mother's milk. All the previously loved favourites like carrots, sweet potato, and squash are simply detested bites reluctantly swallowed and frankly, well, resented. We can only get her to eat veggies and fruits by tricking her into thinking she's about to get oatmeal and rice cereal. This cereal, and only this cereal, is the one thing besides breastmilk that she seems to enjoy eating. Even prunes, once something she couldn't get enough of, is on the gross list. We just keep soldiering on, making sure that we give each attempt at mealtime at least thirty minutes, ignoring the betrayed looks that result from pushing veggies or fruit into her little birdie mouth, and trying to stay firm. We're learning though that Morgen is one stubborn and smart little cookie. She flattens her lips shut, frowns, whines, and then gives us the ultimate sign. She turns her head and sucks her thumb, and says "La!" This syllable means "milk," and has mean that since she was just a week or so old. 

Needless to say that the increased nighttime breastfeeding and wakefulness that result from her solid food semi-strike is a bit of a challenge for Mommy. Or, to put it in the first person...it's a challenge for me! Me, me, me! I've been eating all of our treats and snacking pretty much constantly to keep up with it all. This isn't as much fun as you might think, but I'm getting through it. And hopefully, Morgen will come around. Lately she's just been attatched to me at the breast, though, no matter how hard we try to put her off or show her how much fun mealtimes at the table can be.

So, it was with some trepidation that I left Morgen alone with her daddy and a bottle of formula this afternoon. Three whole hours later, thanks to the distractions of a bookstore, a grocery store, a diaper store, and a good friend, I returned home to discover that Morgen....was sleeping. The child who refuses to sleep without nursing was sound asleep. So, we're on to you, missy! And, now I feel reasonably prepared to start attending a course at the university once a week. I'm looking forward to easing back into some semblance of a balanced life.

In other news, it appears that Grendel no longer fears Morgen. He's now just in open competition with her, no more lurking, skulking or sulking. It's an all out war for Gavin's lap now. Either that, or Grendel has decided to take up reading. Poor, poor, kitty. 

Lazy Sundays

  
Let the record show that Saturday, December 20, Morgen discovered that her toes taste just about as good as her fingers. Let the record also show that it is very difficult to capture this discovery on camera. You'll have to come to my house if you'd like to see my efforts, since they were all taken during Morgen's post bath baby massage - her new favourite thing. If you do come over, perhaps Morgen will oblige you and show you herself. This shot captures the relief we all feel after spending a very lazy Sunday at home. Waffles, baths, and naps all around. It's such a good life.

Half a Year Old!

 
 

Morgen is six months old, and we are happy to report that she is still a very "well baby".

Her fighting stats are:

length - 64 centimetres 

head circumference - 42 1/4 centimetres (prominent forehead = genius baby)

weight - 7760 grams, approximately 17 pounds

At yesterday's appointment, we asked the doctor if "sleeping through the night by six months" was the same as "the golden trimester". In other words, mythical? These days, Morgen wakes up three or four times every night. We have been assured that babies do eventually sleep through the night. And we decided that we will have to take steps to help this along, if it hasn't magically occurred by, oh, say, January. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy believing in myths. But still, the only way I can keep up with this is to nap during the day with the baby, and at some point, I'd like to be doing other things while she naps. Like cleaning the house, or reading a book, or updating the blog. Or maybe I should just enjoy the altered lifestyle that we're currently living and spend some more time in the moment? Thoughts anyone?

In other news, Morgen doesn't want to roll over, nor does she want to use her hands to hold up her trunk, or to stop her face from coming into contact with the floor when she tips over. During tummy time, she adopts a kind of weird baby yoga pose, curving away from the floor and holding her arms and feet up in the air in order to rock back and forth (think: belly button equals fulcrum). At any rate, although this means that Morgen isn't meeting one of the physical milestones for her age, I'm not allowed to stress about it unless she is still doing this at 8 months old. Doctor says: "Ok, so I've never seen that kind of reaction to tummy time before. That yoga pose is hard! What's it called...? But otherwise, she's a perfect baby, with just a bit of eczema! She's just FINE." Yeah, so if anyone has anythoughts about why my daughter wants to be a yogi and not a crawler, I'd welcome that too. 

But hooray for six months! That's half a year old - and full of smiles and giggles and fun games like peek-a-boo and drop-the-toy-woopsie! Where does the time go?

Solid food at last!

  Morgen is into the rice cereal these days...well, two out of the last six days she was into it, and she humoured us for the other four. Next stop: sweet potatoes.

And, in case you are concerned about our weird looking highchair, here is the proof that it's ok. If the Germans like it, it's good enough for me. Oddly, there aren't any North American badges of approval on the box...

 
 

Horsey rides on Daddy's knee are pretty exciting when you are an advanced 5.5 month old.

Morgen has reached new levels of excitement, it seems. Today, she was so excited to be in her bath that she stood up (despite my attempts to keep her safely settled DOWN in the water), and then squeaked and stamped her feet. I had my hands on her, and it was only for a moment, but still, it happened. She is becoming more and more assertive every day...and I am finding myself even more inspired to learn about Geminis and consult her star chart...anything to give me the heads up on interacting with our little girl. 

And the bath isn't the only thing that we enjoyed more than usual today. Morgen also discovered for the first time that she can actually sit up in her stroller. I was happy to see her work that out. We rolled along for a good fifteen minutes, me with a big smile, and Morgen with lots of bouncing and gurgling, before she slipped backwards and fell into her usual subway habit of staring at strangers until they look away. Next time we go out there will be far less slumping along looking dejected and far more leaning forward and chewing on the rail. Or playing with Mortimer. Or looking at stuff. 

(Nearly) No Hands!

This isn't the best picture of either of us, but it does capture one of the first moments that Morgen sat up with nearly no assistance. She's working very hard at sitting on her own these days, on the floor, on the couch, or on laps.

It may sound a bit mean, but I have to admit that my favourite part of all this is not in fact when baby Morgen manages a minute or so on her own. It's when she's managed a minute or so on her own and then becomes distracted enough to move her head a bit off centre.  Why, you ask? Well I'm going to tell you (aren't you lucky). Because then, the most entertaining thing happens. 

She oh so slowly leans backward or to the side, all the while gripping her tights or pants as if to pull her self upright, but focussed on whatever it is that has caught her eye. She can't pull her self up yet, of course, so she just keeps slowly toppling over, until she's lying on her back with her legs stuck in the air and her hands on her shins. She keeps her head turned towards the new object of her interest, but otherwise, it's as if her world has tilted by ninety degrees. And that is good for a giggle on a cold October day. When Morgen falls forward instead of to the side or back, its not as much fun, because she just folds in half and complains about it. But it's still fascinating. I think Morgen will have mastered this sitting skill very soon...we'll keep you posted.

Five months old, four days from Captain Pumpkin

  

So, I've been lagging in my enthusiasm for posting, feeling that nothing very exciting had happened lately. Then, I had my ego suitably kicked by a friend, who reminded me that no one reads this blog because it's interesting. The implication, of course, is that it's all about the pictures. So, here are some shots, with my apologies for the delay. 

First: What's better than getting a bag full of second hand clothes from your boyfriend? Getting a bag full of seasonal clothes from him, and wearing some of it like a cape instead of like a bib. And doesn't every girl love a seasonal sleeper from her grandmother? It's enough to make you stick your tongue out at the photographer.

Second: Here's the birthday girl in her party dress. Note the pretty gold shoes (a gift from her great grandmother) in action. Morgen is five months old today!

  

A Snuffly Milestone

I heard it first, in the early morning, when even the birds couldn't suspect its presence, because they were alseep. Not so our little girl, and not so this surprisingly mobile, light yellow baby booger that was peeking in and out of her left nostril. "Baby Morgen," I said "did you have a nice sleep?" "Snuff, snuff, yawn" said Morgen. I looked, and there was the cause of the snuffling.

Later, I noticed it again. "Snuff, snuff, snuff!!" said Morgen (or more precisely, said Morgen's nose), when we were playing with Mortimer the Moose. A half-hearted swipe at her face did not retrieve the booger. It dodged my weak attempts to oust it all day. In fact, it was still there when Daddy came home. And it's probably there even now playing peek-a-boo with Gavin as he changes our happy baby. Some day I may become the mom who picks her infant's nose, but not today. Hail the victorious crust of mucus.