I have been reading a fascinating book called The Wonder Weeks (there is a great app for it too) which details the major growth & fussy periods in a baby's development. They define the growth spurts according to your baby's actual due date, not when he/she was born. So if you go according to our conception due date- November 29th- Iyla's adjusted developmental age would be 11.5-12 weeks (instead of her actual 14w3d today). Given that, she is in the midst of a big 'Wonder Week' of learning Smooth Transitions. At the end of this period babies tend to have much more fluid movements- following objects and people in a smooth movement with their eyes & head, and reaching for things in more fluid ways vs the previous robotic flailing.
With these big transitions comes some major fussy periods. I can honestly say that this past week was the first time I knew without a doubt that we were going through a growth spurt. On Monday my normally quick 5-10 minute nurser spent a couple crazy marathon sessions on the boob- the longest being FORTY FIVE minutes! Then that night she woke up wanting to nurse at 12am, 1:30am, 4:30am, 5:30am, & 7am. She was much harder than usual to get back to sleep after each feeding- cracking big smiles and playing some serious "Reinsert the Paci" games over and over and over again.
This left us both quite tired on Tuesday- just in time for my parents to visit and see Iyla for the first time since Christmas. That little lady was so off all.day.long. Sleeping LONG stretches and when not sleeping, bringing out the serious fuss times. She didn't care for anyone but Mama to be holding her, and also had no interest in playtime. It was eat, sleep, fuss- repeat.
Happily she slept better Tuesday night and awoke Wednesday her normal sunshiny self. I was so glad my parents got to see that side come out on their visit! Iyla Grace is definitely still 50% smiley joy and 50% fussy feist, but usually she gives you equal amounts of both in a given day. These growth spurts are some serious business!
Iyla found her hands last week, and is still chewing on them 24-7. She is also a serious drool factory lately. I am not sure if she is officially teething, but erring on the side of caution I went ahead and dug out her amber teething necklace. I have heard amazing things about these as a natural soother for babies- the amber interacts with the skin's heat to help lessen the teething pain. Because Iyla still doesn't have full neck control yet, I opted to wrap the necklace around her wrist (many parents wrap it around the wrist or ankle for bedtime, though it is most effective left as a necklace). I am not sure if it is making a difference yet, but it sure is adorable to see Iyla rockin' some jewelry bling!
Just this week Iyla has begun trying to grasp things! Very tentatively, very slowly, very sporadically- with deep concentration (and drool!) as she works things out.
Other achievements this week include:
*Adding gurgling & clicking to her cooing vocalizations.
*When lying on her back, rolling to her right side.
*When on her stomach for tummy time, rolling over to the left and flipping onto her back (she doesn't do this when flat on her stomach, just when propped up on the nursing pillow).
*Doing awesome at tummy time! She still doesn't last long but can now hold that head up strong.
*Wanting to be more physical. She love love LOVES standing up on her legs and holding them strong & firm. She also loves kicking those little legs like crazy! She is less tolerant of lying on her back & enjoys being upright - either with the tummy time or standing.
With these big transitions comes some major fussy periods. I can honestly say that this past week was the first time I knew without a doubt that we were going through a growth spurt. On Monday my normally quick 5-10 minute nurser spent a couple crazy marathon sessions on the boob- the longest being FORTY FIVE minutes! Then that night she woke up wanting to nurse at 12am, 1:30am, 4:30am, 5:30am, & 7am. She was much harder than usual to get back to sleep after each feeding- cracking big smiles and playing some serious "Reinsert the Paci" games over and over and over again.
I get to. I'm cute.
How can you be mad at this face?!
This left us both quite tired on Tuesday- just in time for my parents to visit and see Iyla for the first time since Christmas. That little lady was so off all.day.long. Sleeping LONG stretches and when not sleeping, bringing out the serious fuss times. She didn't care for anyone but Mama to be holding her, and also had no interest in playtime. It was eat, sleep, fuss- repeat.
Naps with Papa were tolerated
Happily she slept better Tuesday night and awoke Wednesday her normal sunshiny self. I was so glad my parents got to see that side come out on their visit! Iyla Grace is definitely still 50% smiley joy and 50% fussy feist, but usually she gives you equal amounts of both in a given day. These growth spurts are some serious business!
Hooray for the return of smiley joy!
Iyla found her hands last week, and is still chewing on them 24-7. She is also a serious drool factory lately. I am not sure if she is officially teething, but erring on the side of caution I went ahead and dug out her amber teething necklace. I have heard amazing things about these as a natural soother for babies- the amber interacts with the skin's heat to help lessen the teething pain. Because Iyla still doesn't have full neck control yet, I opted to wrap the necklace around her wrist (many parents wrap it around the wrist or ankle for bedtime, though it is most effective left as a necklace). I am not sure if it is making a difference yet, but it sure is adorable to see Iyla rockin' some jewelry bling!
Post bath bling. We've been taking baths together every other morning.
She LOVES being in the big tub!
She LOVES being in the big tub!
Just this week Iyla has begun trying to grasp things! Very tentatively, very slowly, very sporadically- with deep concentration (and drool!) as she works things out.
Working it out on the play mat... just starting to reach for some of the toys.
Grasping!
Other achievements this week include:
*Adding gurgling & clicking to her cooing vocalizations.
She loves to talk while on the potty. And bibs are also being introduced into our lives due to all the drooling going on.
*When lying on her back, rolling to her right side.
*When on her stomach for tummy time, rolling over to the left and flipping onto her back (she doesn't do this when flat on her stomach, just when propped up on the nursing pillow).
*Doing awesome at tummy time! She still doesn't last long but can now hold that head up strong.
Showing off tummy time strength to her friends
*Wanting to be more physical. She love love LOVES standing up on her legs and holding them strong & firm. She also loves kicking those little legs like crazy! She is less tolerant of lying on her back & enjoys being upright - either with the tummy time or standing.
Taken this morning- those little legs are primed to River Dance!
On a sidenote, I've been pleased to actually need a belt again with my pre-pregnancy jeans.
I got on the scale with Iyla a couple of days ago, and it looks like she has gained a pound since her 2 month appointment- bringing her up to a whopping 9.5 pounds. I have had two friends birth 10 pound babies in the past week- I can't even imagine that big of a baby coming out of my lady parts! It's hilarious to me that Iyla is just now the weight that many babies are at birth. Growth spurt indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment