Breaking the silence

Sometimes an outfit is so cute you have to have a photo shoot!

 

First laughs, our photogenic family, and new hope on the nap front

Lillian has started to laugh in the last couple weeks!  She started a couple weeks ago, during our daily song time, but it's her Daddy who's best able to elicit them - she loves to converse with him and emulate whatever he says.  I managed to capture a bit of one on video (apologies for the terrible cinematography skills, I barely know how to turn the video function of our camera on!

We went out for a family walk this past weekend - Daddy, Lillian, Suki and I (Picasso enjoyed having the house to himself again) - and Daddy tried out our baby sling.  Since it was the first time he's really used it, we wanted to take a picture.  The following is what we got.  We can't help but be reminded of the photo outtakes sequence of Donkey from Shrek ... 

Finally, on the nap front - we've added something new to our arsenal: blackout curtainsand a special 'Twilight' wraparound curtain rod.  Since installing them Monday night, Lillian napped for two hours yesterday morning in her crib; this morning she wouldn't sleep at all but at present, is going on one full hour this afternoon (though I am starting to hear little sounds).  This is progress.  We already had a set of faux-wood blinds, but a lot of light still comes through those.

This is the 'after' picture, by the way.  The curtains were advertised as "eliminating 99% of light".  I'm not convinced they're living up to that quantification, but I think they're helping.

Cause and effect

Lillian is starting to really use her hands.  There have been several points in her life thus far at which we have noticed new hands-related abilities (looking at them, stuffing them into her mouth, grabbing the neckline of my shirt when eating as if she’s worried I’ll put her down before she’s done) but this one is most exciting to date - she’s begun to pick up items on her own, hold onto them for extended periods of time, and manipulate them.  She wears a look of intense concentration, it seems like she is making the connection that it is her hands that are causing an object to move. We’ve brought out our Sophie the Giraffe, rounded up a few rattles, and are scanning the house for the many toys she has been given that she can now use.  

What Lillian is still not doing: napping (at least with any consistency)!  When she does happen to nod off for any longer than a few minutes, she wakes up in tears as if upset that she accidentally missed out on even a brief portion of her day.  We’re trying to practice better habits about getting Lillian settled in her crib throughout the day before she gets overly tired, to little success thus far.  Thank goodness she sleeps fairly well at night!  And I was encouraged by a mom we met at at our library’s Books for Babies program, who told us her daughter had similar napping habits as Lillian at her age, but suddenly started accepting naps at six months.  Here’s hoping.

Three months

Last Friday, Lillian turned three months old!

She keeps growing and growing - at last weigh-in (last Monday), she was 14 pounds 12.5 ounces!  She's outgrowing her 3-6 month onesies and sleepers, so we're transitioning to the next size up.  Until now, we've had her in sleepers day and night, but her 6-9 month wardrobe includes a few big kid outfits - here she is in her first dress (a gift from our Irish relatives, Robert and Sheila - thank you!)  Dressing a little girl is going to be fun.  We also discovered the H&M in town carries a baby line - excellent!

We've been dealing with the three month growth spurt this past week as well - lots of feeding, lots of fussiness.  The last two days have been better; last night Lillian slept 10 hours!  She also, for the first time ever, had a nap this afternoon in her crib.  She's been sleeping in her crib at night for a week or so and it was an easy transition, but naps have been a challenge no matter where in the house she is.  Normally the only daytime sleep she gets is if I take her out in the car seat.

Hopefully today's sleep schedule sets a pattern - well-rested, she's been in a great mood today, and it would be nice to spend more time at home.  Maybe I could even get back to work on thank you notes!

New Skills

Sorry for the lack of posting recently.  Lillian has been a great night sleeper, but, like her mom, not big on napping during the day.  The exception is if we go out with her in her carseat - she sleeps great in there - but when since we’re out, I can’t spend that time on things like writing posts.  Oh well.  Although I have nothing to compare her too, I suspect  we’re lucky to have such a good baby.  

She’s been doing well.  She loves looking at things, and is more and more interested in the world around her by the day.  Often when she is fussy, I think it’s related to frustration at lacking the ability to interact more with her surroundings.  For her father and I, it means a lot of walking around the house with her high up on our shoulders so she can look around.  We’ve been doing more tummy time, and she’ll tolerate about five or ten minutes propped up on a boppy pillow on her activity mat looking at the flashing, music-playing sun toy attached to that.  

We’ve also made it out to a couple sessions at the Early Years Centre, and she seems to really enjoy baby songs and nursery rhymes that we’ve learned there.  Head and Shoulders is a favourite, even though she can only reach as far down as her hips!   

This is the sort of smile Head and Shoulders elicits:

I am really looking forward to hearing her first laughs!

Two months

Last Thursday Lilly hit the two month milestone; it was celebrated with the gift of immunity - two injections plus an oral vaccine.  This picture was taken first thing in the morning, I wasn't sure if she'd be in the mood for pictures after her doctor appointment.  She was a trooper though, and only cried for a few seconds until I was able to pick her up.  I still feel bad about the number of vaccinations she has ahead of her in the coming months!  Despite my timing, I wasn't able to get a picture of her actually smiling that day.  So as proof that she does indeed smile, here are a couple bonus pictures ...

Smiling at Daddy there

And here, hamming it up after a bath.

Debut

We love having family photos, but as our documentation of the last few years reveals, we are terrible at actually getting out the camera and taking them.  We are lucky to have a sister/sister-in-law who takes beautiful pictures (thanks Carrie!), but unfortunately she's not here everyday.  So this blog is started with two main purposes: (1) to 'encourage' us to take pictures more regularly, and (2) to allow family and friends to follow our new arrival, baby Lillian, and enjoy the eye candy that she provides.  Although we're not excluding the occasional guest appearance of our old arrivals, Picasso the cat and Suki the dog. 

So without further adieu, the first thing to be shared is my best attempt to capture the results of one of Lillian's favourite pastimes: trying to break free of her nightly swaddle. 

Sometimes she succeeds, and I wake to find her with one or both arms outside the swaddle.  Sometimes the path of her arm goes awry, and her arm works itsself out of the sleeve of her sleeper.  Her dad affectionately calls this 'chicken winging'.  From the picture, I think you can see why!  When she's been trying really hard, she gets it right out of the sleeve and up through her neck opening.  I guess that still counts, right?  

Here, I've helped her out a bit.  Before re-swaddling her, that is.  It's still the middle of the night!