Developments

A few weeks ago I had an epiphany related to babies "calling their mothers" Mama.  I'm not sure I could have realized it had I not had my own child, but it hit me one day that since "mama" is one of the first sounds a baby makes ("mamamamamama.." is more accurate,  in Noni's case at least), then at some point in times past Mama just came to be the name that was given to mothers. That was the realization.  Then it made more sense to me that it's not really that the baby's "first word" is Mama and that she/he is referring to her/his mother as that.  What seems more likely to me is that all that preparation for speaking or making verbal sounds (which manifested in the form of constant spitting over our way around months four and five) hits a high point when babies are finally able to vocalized the mama and baba sounds as well as others. 

It's really common sense when you think about it, but I guess I hadn't. 

So, I thought about all this again recently when considering other milestones that babies reach on their journey through infancy.  In my last post I talked about Noni now being at a point where she dances and gives me and her daddy kisses.  (And they actually are her version of kisses and not attempts to bite, as I'd speculated, since we can ask for kisses and she gets what we're saying and responds accordingly--most times anyway).  Over the past few weeks she's also started clapping and waving.  What's interesting is that even though I'd made attempts to teach her all of these actions, I know--just from being with her all day everyday and witnessing her developments literally as they occur--that she's doing these things naturally and not because of what I was wanting her to do and therefore attempted to show her how.  With the exception of the kisses, I'm pretty certain of this.

So, when she became aware enough of sound in the form of beats and rhythms, she began to move in response to them--what we call dancing.

When she could coordinate putting her hands together at the same time repeatedly hard enough to make a sound or just in general, she did it--what we call clapping.

And when she realized that she could hold her arm up and move her wrist up and down or flex four fingers up and down, she delighted in doing so--what we call waving.

As time progresses and she starts to more and more clap to or about something or wave at someone or something, then those actions will be more in the context of the meaning which we've come to give them.

All of this--from the sounds right down to the waving--has been an incredible learning experience for me as I witness more and more everyday what all goes into a baby growing and developing into a non-baby.  

I had a really good point to make about all of this, but somewhere between singing songs, playing countless fun/silly games, and keeping the child from diving from the bed to the floor, it escaped me.  

Anyhow, here she is in one of her many jubilant moments showing her two new top teeth! 

She didn't necessarily exhibit the actions of teething as much with these as she did with the bottom two, but I recall her gums being swollen for a while.  Then, one day a couple weeks ago, they came through. She has not confusion about how to use them either. 

This Won't Work

Evidently there's some idea that babies--since they are babies--have no need for privacy and/or are not suitable to be dealt with in a dignified manner when it comes to access to or display of their bodies.  In addition to the very out in the open baby changing stations in many high traffic public restrooms, there's this seemingly standard process in pediatric offices to subject babies to an examination process that's obviously uncomfortable for them and very likely hard to watch for many parents.

I don't doubt that the attending nurses have nothing but the best intentions when carrying out the tasks that they've been trained to perform, however the larger medical establishment seems to have forgone the use of basic logic--and if nothing else, plain old consideration--when setting up the rules that medical care givers are expected to uphold. 

We are not in agreement with having them remove all of baby's clothes when they want to weigh her.  Further, this whole thing about using a rectal thermometer to take a baby's temperature could use some serious reconsideration.  The one time that either of these tactics were used, Noni was not a happy baby at all. 

This is actually a picture of Noni improving upon her oral communication, aka spitting--something she's been doing a lot of lately as mentioned in a previous post and wouldn't stop doing when I was taking the picture. That facial expression, though, is one *anybody* might display if subjected to that stuff they try to pull during baby examinations!

Part of our duty as parents is to keep her healthy and happy, and that was enough for us to decide that, no, we will make the rules on how our baby is handled when we take her to appointments.  Plus, after all but asking them had they lost their minds, we gave the doctor and other staff a rundown on why all of that just isn't cool, even though we know they're merely adhering to standards that they personally didn't put in place.

These days when she goes to appointments, all clothes stay on and her temperature is taken under the arm. Whatever the weight is, we subtract some to account for clothes and keep it moving. If getting a more precise weight means she's got to be completely exposed in a freezing cold facility for anyone who's passing by to see as she wails due to the discomfort of it all, then we'll pass.  Her pediatric visits go well each time now, and she's happy and playing the entire time.

A quick point to say that we were told the rectal thermometer was used to--like weighing baby while naked--get a more precise measurement, so that if baby is in the office for something specific, fever can be ruled out.   I'm not sure what the variation is between temperature taken rectally versus orally or under the arm.  However, my intuition tells me that the difference isn't significant enough for a baby to be examined that way.  Further, I'll just take it upon myself to determine whether or not she has fever prior to taking her in to the doctor if I suspect something serious is going on.  Other than that, she's just at the appointment for the basic checkup that's recommended every couple of months or so.  (It's basically just something for us to go do every now and then to see how much she has grown, since, thankfully, she's very healthy and any issue that may arise is quickly resolved with a little research and application of whatever measures are necessary.)

As I've learned in these five months that she's been here, many times I just have to go with what feels right to me as her mother in terms of having her best interest in mind.  The rest isn't my concern.

Toy Story

I had this idea that I'd be the type of person who wouldn't be all into toys and things for the baby.  After all, minimalism is one of the primary ways our life remains simple.  But somewhere along the way I became a sucker for baby stuff. Everything has become so, "Oooooh!!" and "Looook!!" and "My baby needs THAT!!!"  Fortunately for me, I get a thrill out of just looking at toys. Purchasing isn't necessary.  Her father, on the other hand, is a different story.  Although he's  a minimalist as well, he--if I didn't stop him--would get every toy and/or baby gadget that caught his attention.  He really likes gadgets...for baby or otherwise. While in the store the other day, he came up to me and baby, showing us something like this...like he was gonna buy it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A baby food feeder??? Really???  Not to knock it, but I'm sure baby will do just fine with a spoon.  Plus, she's still solely on breast milk.  Plus, plus even thinking about the day that she starts eating other things makes me emotional for some reason, so I don't wanna be confronted with that right now!

 

About a week ago we got her two teethers, since, although she does enjoy chewing on our fingers and blankets and sheets and clothes, we figured we'd do better by directing that energy towards an object that's meant for that very purpose.  She really likes to chew fabric, so when he next picked up what's called a blanket teether at the store, I didn't oppose.

 

 

 

She has been having a ball with this thing.  Not only does she chew on it, but she talks/sings (aka keeps up a whole lot of noise) in the process.

 

 

It also comes with a frog or monkey.  We liked the goofy looking lion the most.

 

 

Something that tripped me out was to read the tag on the back and find out that, although it--like so many other mass produced items--was  "Made in China" it was designed and copyrighted  by a company in Monroe, LA.  That's cool to come across an item out here that has roots in a town right up the road from my home town.

 

Looking at and buying a few of these mass produced items can be fun, but as one who likes to make items by hand and supports independent artisans, I look forward to getting Noni some great handmade toys in the future. :)

 

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So, somebody's five months old today! :-D

 

 

 

Good times with just about all the toys she does have at this point.

 

 

For the last few days she's been all about spitting and being very vocal.  I figured all this has to do with her preparing to deal with language.  Here's an article that talks more about what I already figured was true.  She actually started all this at around 3 months, but lately she's taken it to the next level.  It may have something to do with us talking a lot around her. Pretty soon she'll be right in the conversation teaching us stuff.