Day 239: Communication

I remember when Gianna was such a small, brand new baby and it was like there was virtually no communication...no emotion. When a young baby cries, it's generally because they want something; in Gianna's case, milk (truthfully, she actually didn't cry unless past hunger--she just made little noises). She never cried because she was tired until around four months of age. Until that point, she'd just fall asleep without a peep, usually while nursing. And even if she did cry, it wasn't an emotional cry as if she were sad or angry, it was a cry because she needed something.

It wasn't until the past couple months that Gianna started to show what I consider real communication and emotion. She'd be obviously happy or angry in the past, but now it seems like she really wants to let you know how she's feeling, what she wants, and she's starting to show affection and the need for physical comfort. It's very sweet!

So many people always seem sad that their babies aren't as young anymore, that they're growing so fast, but I don't know that I quite feel the same way. I'm too excited about all of Gia's developments and how she makes me smile even more now that I see real feeling and a desire to communicate.

Just recently I discovered that she knows what the word "milk" means. I couldn't believe it! She knows her name and her nicknames, but outside of that, I wasn't sure she really understood the other things we may be saying. When I ask, "Milk?" though, she'll almost immediately turn her head and try to nurse. I can hold a sippy cup in front of her and say "milk" and she'll grab it from me and try to drink.

That's why I want to start working on sign language now. A lot of people scoff at teaching babies sign language, I think partially because so many seem to teach a self-made-up version rather than actual ASL. But the difference it can make in your lives is amazing! Babies know what they want and simply can't communicate it well because they don't have the physical ability to form words. They make all sorts of motions with their hands, though. In the past month, Gianna has learned to clap so well, she's so proud of herself. She laughs and laughs, clapping her hands together over and over. If you start to clap, her smile gets so big! It's really precious. And if she has the ability to do that...if she knows to start clapping when she hears the words "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake..." then doesn't it make sense that she'll be able to imitate signs in order to let us know whether she's hungry, tired, or needs a diaper change?

If you can teach your baby to wave "hello" and "goodbye," you can certainly teach them to make a hand motion for "milk" and many others. It simply takes some effort.

So, I can say I'm very excited to learn a little bit of sign language and start teaching my baby. It's not too difficult to see when she's hungry and when she's had enough, but I'm sure it would become even easier were she able to simply show me herself. Like when I was feeding her today, I had a bottle ready and a bowl of butternut squash. While giving her spoonfuls of squash, she suddenly stopped eating and began fussing, staring and leaning toward her bottle. I picked it up, offered it to her and she immediately started drinking. If she were able to sign "milk," though, she could simply show me that gesture and I'd know immediately, without the worry of fussiness or being able to know what she's looking for.

The signs are quite easy to remember too, so I have no worry that I (or anyone else caring for her, such as Billy!) won't be able to retain enough to teach her. It's just so simple. And I'm confident that as long as we maintain a constant usage of each sign, she'll eventually understand their meaning (as she's come to understand the spoken word, "milk") and one day, in the next couple months, start executing them herself!

I can't wait :)

Day 232: Sweet, Sweet Silence

I love when Gianna just sits quietly, playing on her mat. She seems so precious!

That's not to say she isn't precious. It's just that Gianna is very loud and active and hilarious. She's always yelling and jumping, constantly trying to grab everything that is or isn't in reach. I take her into the bathroom when I'm home alone and need to shower; so, I just set her in her Super Seat where she can play and enjoy herself. A couple days ago, though, she kept yelling and yelling. When I looked to see what was wrong, she was trying to reach a package of menstrual pads and was upset that she couldn't reach them! They were behind her and she was turning as far as she could, reaching way back to get them. I mean, seriously? All those toys in front of her and she's upset that she can't reach my pads.

You have to be very careful about what's within her reach. She wants everything. It can be a handful trying to hold her and keep her still for even a moment! And she loves, loves, loves to talk. Just babbling constantly, making noises, yelling or screeching. She loves to make groaning/moaning sounds, like a creaky door...over and over and over.

So, when she's sitting by herself on her little play mat, quietly examining her toys or trying to clap (that's her newest thing, which she loves!), I just fall in love. Such a little sweetie ;)

Day 221: Exciting Developments

Gianna’s going to be starting “Stage 1 purees” this weekend and I’m so excited! What are “Stage 1 purees” you ask? They’re just single food purees, usually a fruit or vegetable. When you teach a baby to eat solid food, you essentially do it in stages…or you should do it in stages. First, you start with cereals (rice, barley, oatmeal) that will get them used to the texture without any likely allergic or digestive reactions. Once the baby has gotten used to that, you move onto single-ingredient purees, such as carrot puree or apple puree and you can also mix that with cereal. Once you know your baby isn’t allergic to certain things and you’ve learned what they like, you can start to mix things up and then you’re moving onto the next stages. Blah blah blah, haha.

ANYWAY, we started Gia a little late, in my opinion. A baby may be ready for solids starting at four months of age and while Gianna was physically ready, we just never had the chance to start. I happened to get sick every weekend and didn’t want to miss the big event and, otherwise, we’d be extremely busy with other responsibilities. You’d think it shouldn’t take very long to just feed a baby a couple tablespoons of food for the first time, but that’s not the case at all! You may be sitting there for half an hour trying to get the baby to accept the food...and trying to keep her hands out of the bowl or at least keep them off the furniture once they’ve been in the bowl. It’s a fun event. So, we never made the proper time until she was somewhere in the five to six month range. Then we started cereal, which is hilarious to watch, but I’m ready for more!

I’m just excited to actually cook for my baby and watch her decide what tastes good and what doesn’t. I’ll be even more excited getting the chance to mix up the flavors for more interesting items and to watch her start trying to feed herself even more. She already tries to take the spoon from us and direct it into her mouth, which always gets me cracking up.

We also recently starting giving her a sippy cup to experiment with, just filled with a little water, and it’s the cutest thing in the world to watch her hold onto the handles and suck on the sippy spout, trying to get the water out like it’s a bottle! All I had to do was demonstrate once and she immediately was adamant about drinking out of it. I could put that cup in front of her with a mixture of toys and she’ll go for the cup so she can feed herself. I love it! Silly baby.

I’m also really excited for some stainless steel sippy cups I recently purchased online. I know, I’m crazy. But these have a spout that isn’t supposed to leak, unlike our current cup, and I just can’t wait to put some milk in it and let her really try to drink for herself without worrying that she’s going to spill it everywhere. And I won’t have to worry about plastics or any of that bull. I know, “BPA free!” but too bad. I just hate plastic anyway. Durable glass and metals for the win!

Another thing I’m really looking forward to is our purchase of a convertible car seat. I recently got a Jeep Patriot, my very first mom car after my beautiful, single-girl Mustang that I had since I was fifteen,

16 years old and loving it!

My last hurrah. I threw on an outfit I'd have worn in high school (including a leather jacket from high school) and sped through 
the streets listening to Linkin Park as loud as my stereo would go! And then I said goodbye.

This baby got to ride in that car twice...at a very slow pace...in a very cramped back seat (the passenger seat had to be 
moved all the way forward to fit the car seat!). Glad to have my Patriot now. But I miss you, Tes!

and I’m excited to outfit it into a true family vehicle, haha! It seems crazy to me to think like that, but I love it. I’m even looking for some really cute window decals, you know the ones depicting each family member, including the dog.

The last thing I’m excited for is a diaper bag I can’t yet own……so sad! But it’s really amazing. A photographer named Kelly Moore has been designing camera bags that look like purses, but have removable, Velcro-attached dividers to keep camera equipment organized. The bags are strong and durable for the equipment and yet super stylish. What gets me are the dividers. I haven’t been able to find a single diaper bag that doesn’t have silly pockets sewn into the sides inside the purse—pockets are pointless! Once I fill a pocket, it expands into the bag, taking up space in the center that I can no longer use. And because they don’t extend all the way to the bottom of the bag, that space is now useless as well. So, I actually get less storage because of the pockets, which are supposed to help to organize. Kelly’s dividers, however, are affixed to the bottom of the bag and are made of a strong material that stands up very well, not something flimsy that falls over and gets in the way. She even has bags with “Posey pockets” on the outside, which are zipper compartments that fold open to reveal tons of credit card slots and two pockets for cash, checkbook, keys, whatever! So exciting. She has one bag that’s the perfect size, but I just can’t afford it right now. One day, though…one day.