I just started this blog but already a lot of space has been devoted to Alex and Claire has barely been mentioned, so here’s an update on her…
The thing that most boggles my mind about her right now is that she’s FIVE months old tomorrow. I can’t believe it. Although Alex was a year (and then 2) before I knew it, I just can’t get over how much faster time is going by with Claire. It makes me sad that her babyhood is going to be gone in just a few months and I feel like I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone sit back and enjoy/appreciate her as a tiny baby. Right before I left on maternity leave my brother – father of two kids close in age – said to prepare myself for life to be a blur; as much as I hate to admit it, he was right.
Claire has got to be one of the smiliest (OK, I know that’s not a word, but it should be) babies ever. Every time I enter the room, even after being gone for only a minute, I get a huge grin from her. And she loves to watch (and smile at) her brother. She smiles so much that the most reliable indicator of her fatigue and need for a nap is when the number of smiles begins to diminish. She doesn’t laugh much, though we’ve recently discovered that Gromit (our dog) or a mirror can elicit a chuckle.
She loves attention and interaction: being read to, sung to, talked to, bathed, diapered, dressed…basically if you have to talk to or touch her, she’s happy.
I see a high degree of determination in Claire. She learned to pick up her head and chest off the floor fairly early at about 10 weeks. She’s built up her back and stomach muscles from daily attempts at sitting up. She loves to stand whenever she can. But at other times, she’s perfectly content to just sit for a while and watch (especially nice when her parents have to attend to the needs of a sometimes very needy toddler).
Oh, but she’s not without her “faults.” When it comes to sleep, she could be a little more generous. I’d heard of newborns having day/night confusion, but I was shocked when it seemed like my newborn had it. That issue was short-lived, but she still likes to have play sessions at 3 AM about once a week. Maybe it’s her social/smiley personality that makes her lonely in the middle of the night and eager for some companionship, even if the attention comes from a terribly grumpy and baggy-eyed mama. Guess she’ll take whatever she can get. She’s not consistently a bad sleeper. Every third night or so she gives us a reprieve: we put her down for the night and don’t hear a peep until about 5 AM, when she takes a bottle and goes back to sleep until at least 7:00. But sometimes that’s even frustrating, the knowing that she has the ability to sleep well but doesn’t do it often enough.
All in all though Claire is a very good baby and we feel very lucky to have two healthy (relatively) and happy kids.
The thing that most boggles my mind about her right now is that she’s FIVE months old tomorrow. I can’t believe it. Although Alex was a year (and then 2) before I knew it, I just can’t get over how much faster time is going by with Claire. It makes me sad that her babyhood is going to be gone in just a few months and I feel like I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone sit back and enjoy/appreciate her as a tiny baby. Right before I left on maternity leave my brother – father of two kids close in age – said to prepare myself for life to be a blur; as much as I hate to admit it, he was right.
Claire has got to be one of the smiliest (OK, I know that’s not a word, but it should be) babies ever. Every time I enter the room, even after being gone for only a minute, I get a huge grin from her. And she loves to watch (and smile at) her brother. She smiles so much that the most reliable indicator of her fatigue and need for a nap is when the number of smiles begins to diminish. She doesn’t laugh much, though we’ve recently discovered that Gromit (our dog) or a mirror can elicit a chuckle.
She loves attention and interaction: being read to, sung to, talked to, bathed, diapered, dressed…basically if you have to talk to or touch her, she’s happy.
I see a high degree of determination in Claire. She learned to pick up her head and chest off the floor fairly early at about 10 weeks. She’s built up her back and stomach muscles from daily attempts at sitting up. She loves to stand whenever she can. But at other times, she’s perfectly content to just sit for a while and watch (especially nice when her parents have to attend to the needs of a sometimes very needy toddler).
Oh, but she’s not without her “faults.” When it comes to sleep, she could be a little more generous. I’d heard of newborns having day/night confusion, but I was shocked when it seemed like my newborn had it. That issue was short-lived, but she still likes to have play sessions at 3 AM about once a week. Maybe it’s her social/smiley personality that makes her lonely in the middle of the night and eager for some companionship, even if the attention comes from a terribly grumpy and baggy-eyed mama. Guess she’ll take whatever she can get. She’s not consistently a bad sleeper. Every third night or so she gives us a reprieve: we put her down for the night and don’t hear a peep until about 5 AM, when she takes a bottle and goes back to sleep until at least 7:00. But sometimes that’s even frustrating, the knowing that she has the ability to sleep well but doesn’t do it often enough.
All in all though Claire is a very good baby and we feel very lucky to have two healthy (relatively) and happy kids.
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