Posts Tagged ‘baby’
Little A, 18 months
She’s 19 months as I write this but we had a doctor’s appointment just in time for her 18th month birthday so here’s her stats:
12.1 kg (~26.7 lbs.)
87.1 cms (34.3 inches)
I’ve officially been in Europe too long – I know my the family’s weights in kilograms, the weather in Celsius, and all children’s clothing is based on height in centimeters, so I know these too.
Spring/summer finally sprang into being in March and April was so beautiful overall. A complete 180 degree change from February which was non-stop gray. Little A loves to play in the backyard with her tricycle, on the swing, and with whatever else catches her fancy… rocks, her watering can, frisbee, balls. She points out every airplane or helicopter that flies overhead. First she hears it, then she looks, then she shows me or D.
So lately we spend most afternoons outside, and most weeknights too, when we get back from the day mother’s. Our apartment has quite a few children and I often invite them into our part of the yard to do the activity du jour. Today it was finger paint. One boy who is almost 3 came over and I was trying very hard to keep his fingers off his pants…
Little A still loves tomatoes and most other vegetables. She also like chicken (preferably dark meat if given the option), and lasagna, and ketchup. For dessert she likes strawberries and raspberries and yogurt. And she rarely says no to at least a bite of something chocolatey.
She talks in her own little language, and says about 5 intelligible words consistently. The bottle of milk she gets in the morning and at night is called “Bah”. She generally likes going to bed for naps and at night – she’s tired, we can completely understand and appreciate this.
Little A, 17 months
Likes:
– Feeding herself yogurt
– Waving hell0/goodbye
– Reading books with Mama and/or Papa
– Wrapping various things in wash clothes (random??)
– Sorting toys of any kind
– Telling Papa about her day (in her own language)
Loves:
– Raw tomatoes, especially sliced cherry tomatoes
– Walking/running by herself
– Puzzles
– Baths
– Putting on shoes (not necessarily hers)
– Taking off one sock
Dislikes:
– Peppers and mushrooms
– Ice cream
– Someone wiping her nose with a tissue
– At times the car seat
Almost 14 months
Baby A is running around the house yelling “MAMA!” all day long. It’s quite endearing, especially when I answer “yes?” and she grins.
She has also in the last 2 months, learned to walk backwards, which makes her look like she’s trying to moon walk over to us since she’s always do it to back into me or D’s arms, lap, etc..
Baby is becoming a loose term now… she’s quite the little lady sometimes. And quite the opposite at others. When mad or frustrated, she will sit down and bang her head on the floor. Wow, and she completely came up with this on her own.
Right now she’s an adventurous eater, eating most any vegetable, cooked or raw. She also tries to shove entire pieces of deli meat into her mouth, which amazingly, is half the time a successful, though cumbersome, technique.
She can put together Duplo Legos now with no problems and loves books, especially the ones we sing together. She dances to songs by swaying and stomping one foot… only her right foot so far.
Just in the last two weeks she will give me a kiss when I ask for one. And a few times I’ve gotten open mouthed kisses without a request. She also gives super hugs that include patting on the back.
A first birthday
and a party at the zoo.
This was actually a month ago now since she’s just turned 13 months old, but we’ve been moving and cleaning and busy and now sick, and so on. Turning 1 IS a big deal, and we had fun throwing her a party.
The table and some decorations, with a view of the lake:
Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes (I made) and pieces of German style birthday “kuchen” – donauwelle (chocolate), apple cake, cherry pie, plum cake, cheesecake, raspberry-currant cake:
A small area we set up so the children could play inside:
Just outside, with lots of birds and ducks to feed:
The lucky girl got lots of presents, though she isn’t really interested in unwrapping yet. (she still loves all her gifts) :
A few of her presents were more for me:
This toy has an English and Deutsch mode:
I really loved the idea of a party at the zoo and it turned out that, in actual execution, it went well (if I do say so myself). The zoo staff was really helpful and the room was clean and the perfect size. I think everyone had fun, whew!
A few more photos, just because. Here is Baby A at the old apartment with flowers from the party. D says this shirt looks makes her look like she’s at a Renaissance festival.. :
Outside with her 1st year birthday present from mama and papa:
On baby watch
Earlier this year I counted 9 of our friends/family who were pregnant. Nine!! And that was off the top of my head so I’m sure I probably missed a couple.
D’s sister is “up to bat” next – today she’s 5 days late, so it could happen at any time now. I realized that we will be expecting news now for every month for the rest of year, awesome!
10 months
She’s officially 11 months old today, so here’s my hurry up and post about it already for baby A’s 10th month.
It is amazing how much of personality can fit in such a small body.
Madame curieux
I can’t say I know that many babies, but she is by far the most curious of all her baby friends. Her inquisitive nature makes feeding her almost impossible when something else is going on in the room.
She’s also turned into a little copy cat. After her baths she gets lotion, and we rub our hands together, in a lather motion, before applying it, which she loves, and just last week she is able to do it herself. She gets her own tiny dab now.
Big milestones
But by far, the biggest news for baby A at 10 months is two part:
1.) She’s walking!
2.) She’s letting her parents sleep through the night – thank you, thank you, thank you.
She’s an early walker and it makes me both proud and a little sad – life is changing all the time, and I love her at this age. She loves practicing walking around outside now, and purposefully turns away from me, her minder! – the nerve I must have to follow her around!
The sleeping through the night (most of the time) is rather fabulous. I actually have the energy and motivation to be preemptive again, if I choose. So sometimes the floors get cleaned before you know, you can see debris rolling in the breeze.
She also loves to climb the stairs when we forget to place back the security gate back right away – she’s training us pretty fast.
Also, just last week, she started to wave bye-bye and actually said “bye-bye” to papa. It was seriously adorable. It could just be my imagination, but she seems to be focused a bit more on other things now, like talking and hand motions, now that she has the walking thing mostly figured out.
We were at shoe store in Aachen a couple of weeks ago for D, and along with some great finds for him (2x pair), they had some perfect little baby shoes there. The sales woman said that babies should be able to run in bare feet before buying lauflernschuhe (learning shoes), which sounds a bit backwards to me, but okay, I’m not in a rush. We checked her size anyway and she’s a EU size 19 but will probably be a 20 by the time she’s running. For now I have her in some Tip Toey Joey’s, that are considered “prewalking” shoes – she has to wear something when she’s outside (and I think they are sweet):
Emphatic head shaking
D and I do this to her, when she’s acting silly so I have no idea if she really gets that a head shake means no. Still, she does this, vigorously, when she doesn’t want to eat something, or when she’s done eating. She also does this when I ask her if her fruit is good, or if she’s ready to get out of her high chair, so who knows.
First face to object infraction
This week, while I was 2 feet away and strapping on the baby carrier on so we could take out the trash, she walked over and fell into the stand for the neighbor’s big sun umbrella. And then back onto the floor. There was a little blood. She has a cut/scratch under her lower lip. Sigh.
We went blueberry picking in Belgium last Friday. I can’t say this is a 10 month old friendly sport but it was fun anyway. Baby A liked the blueberries straight from the bucket.
Definitely summer
It’s been hot here. Sweat in your underwear doing nothing hot. And since there is no air conditioning to be found (even in retail shops), we’ve been doing a lot of hiding in the shade. And eating watermelon.
Germany, in May, means lots of time off in the form of holidays, most of them being religious. I’m not sure if this was engineered, or just happened, but it’s rather ridiculous. We ended up having two 4-day weekends and one 3-day weekend within the span of a month.
During one of our long weekends, we went to London. It was our first time, and our first hotel trip with baby. It was amazing how much we packed (for her) for a short 3 night stay. Still, it worked out well and we really liked London. It was beautiful, the food was great (contrary to popular opinion), and there were lots of green spaces to visit. And our hotel had a doorman with a top hat! We managed to see a lot during our short stay, even with a baby-on-board, and I would definitely go back to see more.
Last week we returned from a big trip home to see family. Nine month-old Baby A got see alot of different family and friends for the first time. It feels like the trip was mostly that – time with family. D and I missed some of our old haunts, but hopefully next trip will be a little more relaxed. The flights were okay, all things considered. The plane home was the hardest, it was an overnight flight, and Baby A had a hard time falling/staying asleep. So none of us slept and then we had a 2 hour drive to get home, and the next three days were all out of whack. We found out around then that she is also teething again too. More fun! She has 8 teeth and is working on 1 or more molars now. Poor little petite.
8 months
I could easily launch into a “where has the time gone” speech but I’ll spare you. The first year is going by terribly fast, just like everyone says.
New things for 8 month-old Baby A:
- Clapping. First time on her 8-month birthday.
- Five teeth. Fifth came in over the weekend (May 15, 2010).
- Crawling over or under almost anything. Like under the wall in a changing room (shopping alone just got harder).
- Eating a decent amount of baby food. Instead of 3 or 4 bites.
- Crying when D or I leave the room, i.e. separation anxiety. Fun!
- Standing in her crib and see over the top rail. So she can pull on her mobile now.
- Eating some real food, and actually doing it quite well. Teeth are a big help.
I’m sure I’m forgetting at least a few things. One of her new fun activities is pulling the dish towels off their rack. And balancing herself precariously on furniture, sometimes one-handed.
This week we’ve stayed at home more since we all are sick and baby A has a runny nose. We take walks when the apartment gets boring.
It’s been a cool year for Europe so far, so even though it’s May, we are still dressing like this:
Every day she understands more. It’s amazing to see her figure things out, and to find new things to laugh at. She is still a happy baby, or good humored, as D’s mother always says. Today, balancing a soft toy on her head makes her crack up.
We love you baby A!
PEKiP impressions
PEKiP, otherwise known as “the naked baby playgroup”.
During one of Chicken Little’s first play dates, one of the mothers said she had enrolled her baby in a PEKiP class. Where in her words, the babies all get together naked on the floor and “go wild”. I must admit, my first reaction was in the range of “what?! why?!” I mean, they invented diapers for obvious and tidy reasons. I really like hanging out with this mom, but she fits more the “free spirit” parenting style category, whereas D and I are still solidly “by the book”.
But then we were finishing up our physical therapy sessions and the doctor said PEKiP would be good for little A. Even though she’s now advanced for her age, the doctor said “it’s good for her to see what the older babies do.” Two endorsements for PEKiP in less than 2 weeks, and one by a medical professional. Hmmm… Let’s try it.
We arrived with some trepidation (on my side) on Monday morning. I paid for the class and left the stroller at the door. Upstairs, the room was set up very similar to any childcare room. Exercise mats covering the whole floor, toys piled in one corner. There was a large plastic mat in the center of the room and some space heaters in the corner making the room quite warm. After we worked out that yes, I was the English speaker with the bad German, and said hello to everyone, we waited another 5 minutes and then the class began.
First off we get the babies naked and then each was given a beach ball to stand/lay over, stomach to the ball, and facing each other in a circle. The instructor said this was so the babies could see and touch each other as they wanted, and at a distance they felt comfortable. I’m not convinced babies this age really have the proper body-to-ball coordination, but okay. At this point I find out that the instructor has her own “baby”, a doll, that joins in on the activities too. Then we sing a song that goes “Guten Tag, something something, Guten Tag” and roll call’s all the mamas and babies in the room (oh yes, the doll has a name too).
Next up, the babies move over to a set of hexagonal-shaped platformed cushions, made of soft (waterproof) material and at varying heights. Perfect for climbing. The babies love this. I was happy that baby A got right in there. And then the instructor brought out two shallow tubs of plastic balls. Another hit.
Towards the end we put on diapers and held the babies in our arms to dip and sway for a song. Then we listened to other music on the floor and played with sheer, colorful scarves, while re-dressing the little ones.
I think 4 out of the 6 peed on the floor at some point during the 90 minute session. You wipe it up with your own towel, and then wash the area with some soap and water they provide. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined. All those baby cheeks were cute but I didn’t want to offend anyone by whipping out my camera, especially one our first day.
This class could be done fully clothed. So why naked? From what I have read, it is for better motor development and a more sensory experience. And just as valid a question, why not naked? Once you have everything waterproofed, a bunch of naked babies playing together sounds like fun (and it is).
More information about PEKiP can be found here.
Should we stay or should we go?
Or perhaps more fitting:
Should we stay longer or should we go sooner?
I couldn’t count how many times we’ve asked this question. Or the number of tangents explored while trying to answer it.
We considered it carefully before baby A was born last September. Our original work contract and permit were finishing in April.
– Did we want to have our baby abroad?
– Could we handle birth classes and labor and delivery without speaking much of the native language?
Our other friends from Montreal that are also here had drove to Belgium, where they speak French, to have the baby there. And we wouldn’t have much help if we stayed here – no grandparents to babysit or cook us dinner or do laundry.
In the end we decided it made the most sense to stay – considering the excellent parental leave benefits in Germany, and the fact that securing jobs/insurance, a good doctor, a house, and a trans-Atlantic move, in such a short period of time was asking for trouble. Or at very least stress which didn’t seem worth it.
But here we are, April +1, and again, facing the same question. D takes his second month of parental leave this June (2 months fully paid for the father) and my year of leave finishes this September.
Are we ready to end this Expat adventure?
We both know that life doesn’t end with babies (I wasn’t as sure of this during the first two months post birth), but it does change (mostly for the better). And once this one, and who knows maybe another one, are in school, we won’t be wanting to traipse here and there all the time. Probably.
And I won’t even get into the job market/salary comparison/quality of living/culture/exchange-rate discussions here. Or of how sick we are of our small, worn out couch. Or about the growing pile of baby STUFF that keeps getting bigger by the month, stuff we’re probably going to want to ship with us wherever we go next.
I’m in discussions to maybe work part-time from home, which I think may be possible after September too, but we have other immediate concerns – space. We need a bigger apartment, with a child’s bedroom, but haven’t found one yet. In Germany you only need to give 3 months notice (no yearly leases), but still, do we do a small move now or just hold out for the big one?
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