posted by Kristin on Mar 27, 2009 |
The last two weeks Elisa has started to make transitions that lead us to think her limited mobility is going to be very short-lived! Of course she makes most of these transitions when we’re turned away for a few seconds and we just see the result! (So we have no pictures or videos yet.) And she never does things the easy way…
While Andrew was in Texas, she decided to get to her feet for the first time – in the baby bath. She has developed a habit of leaning over the side of the bath from her sitting position to communicate she wishes to get out. So when Mommy looked down to lay out the towel and then looked back up, Elisa was leaning over the side, 
but she’d gotten around the central pillar and was on her feet! Two days later, in chasing the dangling shower head Mommy had used to rinse Elisa’s hair (and there’s starting to be some!) she got from her knees to her feet a couple times while leaning over the edge of the baby bath.
Today has seen some of the most startling transitions. This morning Mommy sat her in her desk chair at school only to have her (in the 5 seconds her back was turned to get a cord) get to her knees using the armrest. At lunch, she got up from her portable highchair, moving from sitting (without the tray) to facing and holding onto the back of the high chair while standing on the seat (of course, none of the 3 adults in the room was watching!) 
A few minutes later she was holding onto a spoon with both hands and leaning over…entirely unsupported. This is the first time she was standing entirely on her own (even though she has gotten close by leaning against something with her chest and using both hands) and we think she surprised herself because she suddenly gave out a cry and grabbed for Mommy.
When she starts repeating these transitions, we are going to have quite the little mover since she has been getting much better at cruising. She loves pushing the seat of her playstation around the circle (much better than being in the seat!) and will walk along the edge without using the seat just as easily. She is also moving between objects – this morning switching between two chairs and a table leg and back to one of the chairs all in a couple minutes.
So we are starting to prepare… In the past, the basement door has stayed open since that is where Ink’s food and litter box are. But no more! We put a cat door for Ink in the basement door and Elisa even “helped” Daddy by keeping track of the tools. Ink has been very tolerant of the change, figuring out how to go through in the first few hours with some judicious use of food bribes. We also have a new piece of furniture for our family room that will allow Mommy to put all her books and bags – school, crocheting, church – inside something where little hands can’t get at them.
posted by Kristin on Mar 27, 2009 |
Andrew was gone for a week mid-March for a workshop in Atlanta and a conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, so Mommy and Elisa got to hang out for the full week. For Mommy, it was definitely a challenge to consider a full week of classes without Daddy’s help with Elisa, but overall it turned out very well! Elisa seems to know what her parents can handle and will adjust to help us!
That doesn’t mean that everything was easy. Elisa is a little clingy to Mommy these days – and church Sabbath mornings is one of the traditional challenges since Mommy is playing the piano and can’t hold her. This Sabbath Elisa lived up to her standard 
clinginess and subsequent fussiness, even though mommy thought she might even sleep through the service! Instead, she only took a 40 minute nap and only slept through the first 15 minutes of the service. Many folks in church have been very helpful and Elisa has a couple adopted grandparents, but she cried constantly for them. However, she and mommy both had a really nice nap that afternoon!
One of the major challenges for accomplishing work and caring for Elisa was actually Sunday because this was the day that Kristin does her major grading for the weekand it was a day without babysitting! However, it turned out to be one of our best days together. 
She got up early, but then took a nice long morning nap and mommy started grading… In the process of the day, all the grading got done, Elisa had a bath, we had fun playing with a mirror and taking the pictures in this post, we played with a bunch of toys, we went for a nice long walk in a stroller. It was a nice sunny day about 50 degrees and she had fun sitting forward in the stroller grabbing the front tray and taking it all in!
Overall, it ended up being a great week, even though we really missed Daddy. But he’ll get his turn to take care of Elisa soon enough…
posted by Kristin on Mar 08, 2009 |
Elisa turned seven months old yesterday (Sabbath, March 7th)! Mommy celebrated the date and the more spring-like weather with a short-sleeve dress (and a sweater!) Elisa celebrated the day with a second day that she seemed to not want to nap – thankfully that ended with a 3 hour afternoon nap that allowed mommy and daddy to nap, too!
The biggest news in the last week is that Elisa has cut her two front bottom teeth. Last Sunday we were in Rochester (NY) getting her six month pictures and Elisa was gnawing on mommy’s finger when mommy thought “Wait! That doesn’t feel like a gumline!” Within 24 hours both bottom teeth had poked through and again, 
Elisa was remarkably good-natured about it all. There was no extra fussiness, fever, diaper rash, or any of those other side effects people talk about…oh, except the extra drool, and that has continued throughout the week. You should be able to see her teeth in the pictures to the right and below!
We continue to see further signs of incipient mobility. She has gotten close to trying to pull herself up a few times, does a lot more twisting around (sometimes facing mommy then turning around, facing others then turning to mommy, facing mommy then…well, it becomes rather repetitive), and instead of going flat onto her stomach from sitting she will often keep one leg hitched up under her and sometimes get back up from this position to sitting.
Another thing that seems safe to announce at this point is that Elisa is sleeping through the night. I say “safe to announce” because almost every time I’ve talked about her sleeping patterns, whether good or bad, they change the next night. This very happy pattern began in this manner, too! She has been sleeping through the night (7.5-9 hours) since the night after her 6-month shots (February 12). Elisa had slept through the night occasionally, but never more than two nights in a row. Mommy asked the doctor if it was OK to let her cry if she woke up in the night to make sure there were no concerns about needing food. With the doctor’s reassurance, we prepared to put up with some significant crying for a couple nights…only to have her sleep soundly for the next four nights with no crying at all! It was a very pleasant joke on us. We have had two nights since then where she woke up once, both during her sickness.
The last two weeks Elisa has started to make transitions that lead us to think her limited mobility is going to be very short-lived! Of course she makes most of these transitions when we’re turned away for a few seconds and we just see the result! (So we have no pictures or videos yet.) And she never does things the easy way…
but she’d gotten around the central pillar and was on her feet! Two days later, in chasing the dangling shower head Mommy had used to rinse Elisa’s hair (and there’s starting to be some!) she got from her knees to her feet a couple times while leaning over the edge of the baby bath. 
A few minutes later she was holding onto a spoon with both hands and leaning over…entirely unsupported. This is the first time she was standing entirely on her own (even though she has gotten close by leaning against something with her chest and using both hands) and we think she surprised herself because she suddenly gave out a cry and grabbed for Mommy.
So we are starting to prepare… In the past, the basement door has stayed open since that is where Ink’s food and litter box are. But no more! We put a cat door for Ink in the basement door and Elisa even “helped” Daddy by keeping track of the tools. Ink has been very tolerant of the change, figuring out how to go through in the first few hours with some judicious use of food bribes. We also have a new piece of furniture for our family room that will allow Mommy to put all her books and bags – school, crocheting, church – inside something where little hands can’t get at them.
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