Interactions with Materials
- No big changes on her likes and dislikes- stuffed animals for pretend play, puzzles, musical instruments.
- We are fortunate to have very supportive family members who often send photos of themselves to us as we do not live close by. Q-ball loves these pictures! I hang them on the refrigerator, and she often stands in front of them, naming everyone in the photos, and laughing at any stories she can recall. She'll choose a few photos and carry them around the house with her or take in a car or stroller ride.
- I am incredibly happy to announce that Q-ball's babysitting went very well last week! Of course, the initial separation was difficult, and she continually stated that she wanted, "Mama and Daddy stay home!" Apparently the first 30 minutes were rough, but then she was able to make some of Grandma's rolls with her sitter, play at a park, and continue some physical play at home. When Mama and Daddy came home, she was so excited, it was hard to calm her down! I don't expect our next separations to be problem-free, but I'm much more confident!
- This week Q-ball experimented with the words "might" and "maybe." It's funny to hear her use the words- not because she uses them incorrectly, but because she sounds so grown up! Daddy was reading a book with her the other day and was trying to make a small object in one of the pictures, and Q-ball stated, "It might be a train." Or, when I was looking for yet another lost object in the car the other day, she said, "Maybe it's in Mama's pocket."
- Q-ball had a very exciting weekend- she was able to watch her Daddy in an obstacle-course race. While we were watching, she was clearly a bit confused about all the fuss, and was very confused about why she couldn't go swimming in all the water. We thought her favorite part of the day was getting to ride a "skool bus." But, by the next day, she was gleefully re-telling stories of the day about Daddy "jump in ice water" and "getting muddy dirty!"
- At nearly 22 weeks of pregnancy, I believe that I have stopped producing milk. Q-ball seems to be taking it in stride. So far, she still tries to nurse, but gives up very quickly unless she is comfort nursing after dealing with some tough emotions. Her nursing has declined in recent months, and some days she only nurses 3 or 4 times, so we'll see how this affects things.
- She continues to be very excited about the baby coming. When we were loading up to go to Daddy's race, with all of the excitement and differences in our travel (we got to each a special breakfast in the car!), she concluded that the "baby come out of Mama's tummy." A bit more time still!
I'm so glad the babysitting went well! Even if you very rarely take advantage of it, there's something liberating about knowing that if you really wanted to get out together for awhile, there's someone you could call, and it would all be okay!
ReplyDeleteI think it was right around 20-22 weeks that I stopped producing milk, too. Now at 9 months postpartum, my oldest nursling is still hanging in there! I hope the nursing relationship continues to be positive for both of you, for as long as you both want it to :)