Singin'

Mabel makes lots of sounds now-- some almost seem to carry a melody, as if she's delighting us with a song. She's very into the "mmm" sound, and also likes hard "g" and "b". Her choice of when to be most vocal often cracks me up. For example, she makes tons of happy sounds when having her diaper changed and when rolling around on the couch. She's also laughing a real hearty giggle much more often than before. Who knew my sticking out my tongue or J's off- note singing would be so funny? Guess she's easy to please. Sometimes she just grips our faces and laughs. She's also now raking things with her fingers, and can pull and pick at things that she really has to reach for with fine motor coordination. Playtime on her mat now has to be constantly monitored, as she rolls and scoots and ends up quite far from where we originally rest her. Mabel has become quite an eater, devouring sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, peaches, green beans, squash, and... her newest accomplishment... meat, such as a lovely puréed turkey and sweet potato combo. The solids have been agreeable to her, though it took her a few days to get used to the new kind of shiz that solids create. I knew we were knee- deep into parenthood when Mabel was red and screaming on her changing pad and J and I were standing over her, comforting her while she pushed a shiz out-- diaper open, and we were quite literally watching the shiz emerge. It was so sad to see her in pain, and we needed to know that sucker was gonna make its exit. I didn't thnk I'd ever have it in me to watch poop fall. I'm thankful that most times on her changing pad, she's singing :)

No Pattern Will Ever Hold

The title of this post is comprised of the worthy and valuable words my friend C gave me the other day in regards to child- rearing. I'd been bitching about Mabel's newest move-- the 3AM wake-up and holler. Good times. The frustrating part is that she HAD been sleeping through the night-- in fact, she started sleeping through on April 25. But, since then, she's actually done stints: a few weeks of through the night, and then a streak of not. It's been frustrating, but in doing a ton of reading (books, blogs, message boards, websites), I've come to learn that Mabel is actually in the majority. Most babies experience some sort of wakefulness period at some point or points. I have an entirely new level of respect for working moms--- as the product of a working mom, I've always known how hard it is, but being up in the middle of the night has made me see things through an even clearer lens. As of right now, if I don't sleep well, I can shut my eyes when Mabel goes for a nap the following day. But soon I will be at work and I am already afraid of my tiredness. J is great and shares these duties with me, but, sadly, I wake up and can't seem to settle myself until she is back to sleep, even on his nights. Conveniently, Mabel goes back to sleep very, very easily. She seems to want a bit to eat, and then passes right back out. Some of the "experts" out there claim that if you run in with a bottle, a 5- or 6-month- old, who is sophisticated enough to be strategic, will just cry all the time, knowing you will rush in. Yet, at the 3AM wake- up, she appears truly hungry. She goes down at 8, so that's 6.5 hours she has made it, and I guess I shouldn't be so hard on her. We've tried all the trendy stuff- the dream feed, the hazy feed, the bulking up on solids before bed. The poor thing just can't make it past 3:00. The other option is Ferberizing, but I am not there yet in terms of doing it at a gosh- awful time in the night.   J and I need our sleep too, and going in with a few sips from a buh- buh seems ways easier than hearing her scream it out. We have adopted whine- it- out for naps, which Mabel has done well with; she can definitely self- soothe. Soooo... maybe this a growth spurt. She also appears to have a tooth starting up way down in that gum. We shall see. For now, C's advice is utterly helpful-- no pattern ever holds, and just when your think you've got a pattern down, she will change it up on you. Expecting this to happen has helped me. And poor sweet Mabel, your mom is an awful sleeper. I will do what I can to help you to be a heavy and peaceful sleeper like your dad. You're waking only once per night- this really isn't too horrible.   And your cute little mug greeting me in the morning makes all this crap way easier.