Space Ninja

Dear Zoe,
You had a busy month! You got your first vaccination, you ate your first solid food and you started sitting up - No wonder you’re tired! Right now you’re up North visiting Grandma Amy with your mom, while I stayed at home to play Halo 3 write this newsletter.

Your fascination with other babies is still going strong. You were quite pleased to meet your (second) cousin Claire at a family gathering in Corvallis, and you had a great time playing with your cousin Milo at a family brunch. We sat the two of you in high chairs facing each other, and you both happy sat there teething on the same book the whole time we were there. You even love photos of other babies. There’s a photo of Milo at about your eye level on the fridge, and when you’re playing in your Johnny Jump-up, you’ll frequently stop jumping and start laughing and talking to the photo.

There was a short period this month where you weren’t your usual cheerful, talkative self, however. At your six-month checkup, you got your first vaccination shot. It was pretty sad, but your mom was holding you the whole time, so you cried on her a bit, and then you were fine. You were pretty much fine for the rest of the day, even going over to Grandma Annie’s house to play for a bit. Over the next few days, though, your mom noticed that you were a little bit off. You weren’t talking, you were having trouble sleeping, and you seemed to be more cranky than usual. Common consensus was that you were probably fighting off the effects of the vaccine, and combined with some major teething, and the lack of sleep from those two, you were a bit fragile. Happily, after about a week, you bounced back to your regular cheerful, babbling self.

One of the funniest things about this month is that you started making a new face. As far as I can tell, this just started in the last several days. When you laugh, you’ve started scrunching up your face and squinting your eyes. I have no idea where you picked it up, but it’s hilarious to see.

You are still teething like mad, but you seem to have adapted a bit. You’ve learned to chew on your fingers for relief, and you love those gel teething rings. One day I took you out for a walk, and you fell asleep holding the teething ring in your mouth, and you slept like that for a half-hour.

Of course, the biggest development this month is that you started sitting up! You can’t pick yourself up into sitting position, but if one of us sits you up, you can stay upright indefinitely - or until you get bored and roll onto your front to grab a toy. You really enjoy sitting up, and if we put you down on your back or your belly, you tend to fuss until we sit you up, and then you will happy sit there chewing on a toy, laughing and burbling. You also rolled over for the first time (back to front) on your Auntie Rose’s birthday, Sept. 4^th. and do it fairly consistently now.

Your mom took you to the park and put you in a swing for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and you loved it. You sit in the swing and look at all the other kids run around the park. You especially like it when one of us pushes you, because you never get tired of watching us get closer and further away from you. At the family gathering, you sat in the swing for probably a half-hour while the rest of us chatted and pushed the swing, and you never got tired of it.

We also fed you your first solid food this month. Your mom had been planning it for awhile, and she went out to buy an organic squash, and she ran it through a food processor for you. We put you in the high chair, and you were in a great mood. We brought out the bowl and put a little bit of food on a baby spoon, and your face lit up with delight as you tried to grab the spoon and watched us taking photos. Then you got a little bit of the food in your mouth. We were expecting the usual baby reaction of making a gross face and then wanting more, but you never really wanted more. You just made sour faces and after a few minutes you stopped even grabbing at the spoon. We got some adorable photos of you making a sour face with some squash smeared around your mouth, so we were happy. And we didn’t give up - we tried again with some store-bought baby food (also squash) the next night, and that time you were totally into it. (You are definitely your father’s daughter, preferring store-bought food to organic. Your mom is rolling her eyes as she reads this). You would grab the spoon and put it in your mouth, and happily suck the food off the spoon and smack your lips as you waited for the next bite. I think you would have eaten the entire jar if I had let you, but your mom said that you’re only supposed to have a few ounces at first.

Your daily routine hasn’t changed, except that for the last few weeks you’ve been waking up screaming every two hours at night. This combined with your short naps has made for a very tired mama. It also means that frequently you want to get up at 6:30am and go to bed at 6:30pm. You and your mom hang out around the house, go to baby groups and long walks, and run errands. Your mom tries to give you two good naps each day, but you generally don’t sleep more than about 45 minutes unless she either doesn’t move after you fall asleep on her, or she’s wearing you in the Ergo. She is determined to get you to sleep in your crib during the day, but it just hasn’t worked since your shot, since you were so out of sorts.

I love you, baby girl!
- Your Dad