videos!

week 24 and 25 pictures

just a few days ago, i told bryant that i was a little concerned that elise was not making consonant sounds yet.  according to these babycenter emails i get, she should be making sounds like "agoo" and "bababa" and she had only been making vowel-ish sounds.  well, today as she was bouncing in her jumperoo with bryant sitting next to her and me in the kitchen, we heard her go, "bamamama".  elise was clearly pleased with herself, too, because she just babbled up a storm all day.  even the checkout person at target commented that she was a very talkative baby.  at this rate, her first word will probably be "obama". 

she's sitting much better now and can sit up to about 10 minutes, but only if she's in the mood for sitting.  i look forward to the day when she can sit totally independently and i won't have to monitor her every movement.

speaking of which, she's starting to sleep on her tummy more, which makes us a little paranoid because they recommend babies to sleep on their backs for a year.  although she knows how to roll from tummy to back, she rarely does so in her sleep.  she will wake up crying a lot on her tummy because i think she wants to be on her back, but then she just rolls onto her stomach again, only to cry about 10 minutes later. 

we leave for michigan on wednesday and i'm really hoping she fares well on the plane ride!  i already hate flying as it is, i can't imagine how much harder it will be with an infant.  praying for an easy journey!

 

oh, elise

we've been staying at my mom's while bryant has been out of town the whole week for a math conference.  we've stayed here before, but for whatever reason, she has suddenly become VERY clingy to me.  she only wants me to hold her and play with her.  she doesn't even like to be alone in her jumperoo or playmat.  i know she is feeling anxious due to staying in a new place.  separation anxiety is probably kicking in, too.  but we will traveling the entire summer-- 2 weeks in michigan and about a month around the pacific northwest, and i'm not sure i can handle much more of this!  i also have a part-time job, of which it's been very difficult to get any real work done.  she also wants me to sleep by her when she goes down for the night.  just venting...ahhh!

sleep adventures

it's funny, whenever i talk to other parents, old friends and new, one of the first questions asked is, "how is she sleeping?"  it's almost like a mundane formality like, "how are you?" due to the ubiquity of sleep challenges parents must face!  once elise turned 4 months old, her once predictable night sleep totally changed.  4 months is supposed to be a developmental window where most babies' sleep gets messed up so i wasn't surprised but i was a bit sad to see the solid 8 hour sleep from 6 to 2 am go away.  i do know that some babies just magically have 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep since birth.  ugh, those parents don't know how lucky they have it!

in the meantime, i've read just about everything there is to read about sleep and sleep training.  we decided to wait on sleep training due to her persistent eczema (which is what usually wakes her up at night) and for the 6 month window.  well, i'm now counting down the days because her sleep habits are just wearing me down.  i really hope it works- especially for her naps.  i must say though, i really enjoy co-sleeping (sleeping in the same bed) and nursing her when she wakes up.  i never thought i'd be a co-sleeper but there is something so special about snuggling with your baby in bed. 

here are some photos from my iphone:

waiting at riverside kaiser for her neurology appointment

crazy pancakes we waited in line for at griddle cafe in hollywood (to celebrate elise's good news!)

waiting for our dinner at musha-- a popular westside restaurant that came to pasadena!

week 22 and 23