Photo Shoot

This morning I took Tali for a mini photo session (20 minutes) at a photographer's home in a nearby town. Surprisingly, Tali was very good up until the end. She smiled, she stared, she was on her best behavior.

It's fun to watch a baby photographer at work. She had a basket of toys and could quickly (within seconds) determine which toys Tali liked to look at and which ones she didn't. Tali's favorite was a toy shaped like a maraca that had flashing lights and buzzed. The other toys didn't seem to interest her as much and the singing bear got an immediate frown and lower lip quiver. 

The photographer took a ton of shots and I can't wait to see them! If they come out nicely, the whole family (Jackson included) might go for a full session with her. I'll post pictures when I get them.

Bad Mom - Shots

Tali got three shots today at the doctor's office. I really hate watching her get the shots - she screams bloody murder and I know she's in pain. But, I'm a bad mom and love the results of the shots. She sleeps! She usually sleeps through the night the day she gets shots. Hopefully this round of shots will be the same and I'll get more than five hours of sleep tonight. The crappy part? She doesn't get her next round of shots for another three months.

Doctor's Visit

Tali went to the doctor today for a check-up and everything is going well. At 11 lbs. 9 ounces, she's still tiny (in the 5th percentile for weight and 10th for height) but she's growing so there's no need to worry. Developmentally, she's at the six month mark (right now she's 5 1/2 months) and verbally she's at the eight month mark (she is my daughter, after all). 

The exciting news is that it is time to start solid foods! We'll start this weekend with some rice cereal and then progress from there. Knowing Tali, it'll be a messy experience so the camera will be on hand. That means its time to make room in the kitchen for little spoons and plates. And its time to finally put all of her bibs to good use. 

If anyone has any food/feeding tips they'd like to pass along, I'm all ears. 

Posting Comments on the Blog

I've gotten e-mails from some people who told me that they could not post a comment on this blog. So I've now changed the settings so that everyone can comment. Talk away!

Bad Mom - Rain

This morning I was a bad mom again. We have a morning routine that consists of waking up, changing her diaper, feeding her, reading a book, getting her dressed and then taking her and Jackson for a walk. If the weather is good, I put her in the baby carrier. If the weather is bad then I put her in the stroller so she's covered. 

Today I thought I could beat the rain so I put her in the carrier. Full of confidence, I left the umbrella at home and began our walk. About 5 minutes in it began to mist so I covered Tali's head. Then a minute or two later it began to sprinkle. As soon as it began Jackson saw a friend across the street and refused to move until his friend came over to say hi. Once they'd said hello (sniff the butt, jump around, etc.) we started to move again. And then the rain started to come down. The little hood on the carrier is no match for Mother Nature so Jackson and I jogged back home (can't really run with a baby until they are six months and even then it should be in a stroller, not strapped to your chest) to avoid a complete soaking. Tali, of course, was crying because she was getting wet. Jackson didn't get to finish his walk. And I felt like an idiot for not being prepared.

Touch, Touch, Touch

When I was a senior in college I worked at a women's boutique (I also babysat twice a week, worked for the USDA Forest Services and was the editor of the campus magazine but we'll save that for another blog) and there was a certain type of customer we all hated. The women who came in and touched everything drove us nuts! Usually these people didn't buy anything, they just browsed the racks and put their hands on every item in the store. My daughter is now like those women.

Tali is at the stage where she wants to touch everything. She's exploring with her hands (and mouth) and wants to see what each thing feels like. She loves to touch all of her toys and anything else she can get her hands on. When I have a glass of water in my hands, she wants to touch it. When I read her a book, she wants touch it. When I'm changing her diaper, she wants to touch it. And the list goes on. So we now spend a lot of our days going around the house so Tali can touch things. I enjoy watching her react to different items.

First Toe Suck

When: Friday night, during "towel time" after her bath

Where: On the changing table

Details: Tali has been working hard to get her feet into her mouth. Quite often she gets them there for a few seconds before they move away. Always persistent, she continues to bring her feet to her mouth with the hopes of getting a taste of those toes. On Friday night, she accomplished her goal and had her first toe suck! I know a lot of babies do this, but I think it's hilarious. Now she can actually suck on her toe (or toes - sometimes its the big and second toe) for a few minutes.

It took me a few days to write this because I really wanted to include pictures. Last night I caught her in the act. Enjoy!

She Loves Her Puppy

Tali is really into Jackson these days. She sees him and smiles. She follows him when he's running around the room. And, she wants to "pet" him a few times a day. Luckily, Jackson is a pretty laid back dog and lets her pet him for a few minutes before he walks off (treats help keep him around a bit longer). Now whenever he gets close to Tali she gets very excited, reaches her arms out and leans towards him. And then the petting begins. Of course petting for a five-month old is really grabbing his ears or pulling his hair. So I work with her on being gentle. When she pulls, I release her grasp and show her how to pet, saying "gentle, gentle" the whole time. I know she's too young to understand, but it's better to start early. No matter how she's petting him, she just has a blast. It is so fun to watch her having a good time.

  

Getting On A Schedule, Finally

A week and a half ago, I spoke with Tali's doctor about her sleeping problems and she gave me advice. First, she told me to push her feedings out to every four hours (I was doing every three or three and a half hours) so that she would stop grazing during her meals and be hungry enough to eat a full serving. At night, she told me to begin to let her cry it out, in 15 minute intervals. After 15 minutes has passed, go in, comfort her and then leave. Repeat the process every 15 minutes until she falls asleep. It's heartbreaking to hear your child cry, especially when they scream bloody murder like mine does, and I've had a hard time letting her do this in the past. But since I was so sleep deprived and simply at a loss, I decided to do it. 

Ten days later, I am happy to report that Tali is starting to sleep better. She now wakes up around midnight and screams for a while (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour) then goes back to sleep. She wakes up again between 2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. for a feeding. Once fed, she goes back to sleep and sleeps until about 7:00 a.m. I am hoping that she'll stop the midnight waking soon. It takes a long time to soothe her at that waking. The doctor says she'll learn that she's not getting fed at that time so will eventually stop putting out the effort. I can't wait.

Since I am putting her on a sleeping schedule, I figured it was time to put her on an eating/daytime schedule. Now she eats at 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. We've stuck to this schedule for ten days now and it's working very well. It's nice to be able to make plans in advance and know when I can be out and when I need to be home for a feeding. Finally, life is beginning to have some sort of routine. 

She's Got One of My Genes (or Should I Say Jeans?)

Last week Gran and I took Tali shopping and she was on her best behavior. In fact, I've never seen her so well behaved for such a long period of time. She had a blast at the mall. All of the colors and people were simply fascinating to her and she spent the majority of her time just smiling and looking around. She was such a pleasure, having a normal baby was such a treat! So we decided that she inherited my shopping gene. Watch out Dad, she'll be asking for the credit card soon!