When I was in the thick of sleep troubles and really struggling with...thinking, a friend of mine who is also a new mom said, "Trust me, Bao. It
does get better. I think around 7 or 8 months is when it gets more fun. You will start to really enjoy her."
It's totally true!
It's not that I didn't enjoy her before. But with the vast improvement in the sleep department, I feel like my mind is clearer and I have more energy to enjoy her. It also helps that she gets cuter and more fun everyday!
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| Loooves the strings |
New this month!
- Camille started reaching out for us. Arms out. "Pick me up, Servant!"
- Growling! She still has the high-pitch scream. But since I almost always tell her to stop in a stern voice, she has screamed much less and instead has replaced most of the screams with this low-pitch growl. It is much better than the shrieks!
- One day, she just started babbling. It is distinct and unmistakable. Very different from what she was doing before. Now, her vocalizations are very speechlike. Full of a variety of consonants and vowel blends. "Nhai nhai nhai nhai nhai! Da da da da! Nga nga nga nga nga!!" Since Chinese & Vietnamese are both monosyllabic and largely onomatopoeic, this is what we've picked up from Camille's vocalizations thus far:
- Masticate (chew)
- Here
- Tooth/teeth
- Banyan tree
- Throne
- Poop
Camille is soooo brilliant! Right?! :D
- She likes to play with strings. Um, things like power cords and USB cables. She likes to chew on them. Currently, her favorite toy is a toy strap. A strap that helps latch toys onto our carrier. She likes to play with this strap by itself...*bite bite bite*
- She also likes remote controls, computers, and cell phones. But I think that's pretty normal of most babies nowadays.
- Camille's attention span has gotten to be longer. She can play longer by herself before getting bored and whining. Before, we would hand her any new toy and she would drop the one she was currently holding to grab the new object. But now, if she likes her current toy, she will continue to play with it and ignore our offer.
- Peek-a-boo is something that entertains her more now than before. I don't know if she completely gets object permanence yet. I would hide my phone (one of the most desirable objects for Camille) under a pillow with her looking...and only on a couple of occasions has she reached under the pillow to look for it. But when I play peek-a-boo with her and consistently pop out on the left and then on the right of the blanket, she can predict which way I was going to pop out next and would turn her gaze that way! Amazing! (Sorry if I sound like I'm bragging. I'm really not. I am just amazed by how God has created her!)
- Her fine motor skills are starting to show up a lot more. She's been picking at things with her index fingers more. She has a ways to go in mastering the pincer grip, but she continues to amaze us with her collaboration of index finger and opposable thumb!
- Teeth! Two finally popped out.
- She's just sort of starting to scoot/creep (which reminds me of TLC). She used to roll to get to wherever she needed to go. Now she has found a more efficient way to scoot to her destination. She uses all limbs in this effort, but her belly is usually on the ground still.
- As I'd mentioned before, Camille loves to stand. I think it's so she can be on our same eye level and see more. Her legs are actually pretty strong, despite their twiggy appearance. When I prop her up next to furniture, she will hang on and stand for what seems to be as long as she doesn't feel like she's unable. Wow, what a deep lesson in trust!
The specs
As of March 29, 2011:
- Weight: 14 lb flat - 5%ile (eeks!)
- Height: 27 in - 75%ile
- Teeth: 2, bottom, center
Milestones & important events
March 14 - Camille started having a runny nose that later turned into a cold that lasted for over 2 weeks. Nothing serious...just a bad case of green snot.
March 15 - Camille's first trip to the ER. Don't worry, it was for Chin's tweaked back. He's okay now.
March 21 - Camille & I appeared on Komo4 News!
March 25 - Very distinctly, Camille started babbling today! We also got to enjoy a beautiful day at Pike Place Market, where Camille met her first horse and got splashed in the face with flying fish juice :P
April 1 - Teeth popped out!
April 2 - Teething > lots of salival production > excessive saliva drooled & swallowed > lots of loose stool > Camille's very first diaper rash. That's right! First one!
April 6 - On the way home from getting gas at Issaquah Costco, Camille was babbling in the backseat and said, "Daddy!" She has said it again a few times since then. But fear not, competative parentkind, she did not intentionally mean "Daddy."
April 8 - First time on the swings! She liked it! Oh yeah...and also first [very mild] sun burn.
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| She was laughing! |
Favorite part...
Camille is just more fun! I'm also thankful for the many opportunities to meet up with folks and even have play dates with little ones. We love to socialize!
Least favorite...
I'm not such a big fan of Camille pooping 6 times a day. Not only is it a pain to change poopy diapers, pooping this much means she's not keeping in some of the nutrients she needs. She only pooped 6 times a day on one occasion. But she has been pooping 4+ times a day consistently. :(
Shout outs
...To Grandma Ng for watching Camille several times this month so that I could get out of the house to either run errands or just to have fun!
...To the nursery people at
Rainier Avenue Church. They are amazing! They also told us that Camille is the loudest screamer they've ever heard, though. Oops!
Discoveries & reflections
...Camille looks really good in pink. I'm not really into pink, but I don't object having Camille in a "non gender neutral" outfit either. I have just discovered that with Camille's fair complexion, she looks really beautiful in light pink.
...When cute clothes get dirty, I am willing to spot clean and put them on Camille again. If the clothes are not cute, one drop of drool can legitimately warrant a wardrobe change.
...This is how I know Camille is my kid: she does not like books. Well, she actually only likes
one book. It's called
All Things Bright and Beautiful. And she only likes
one particular page in this 10-page book. It's the page with a mirror. She looks at herself and smiles. My kid!
...I am not a big fan of when Camille goes down for a nap and then wakes up after 40 minutes. If this happens during her morning nap, that's fine. She usually lasts until she needs to go down for the afternoon nap. But if she gets a short afternoon nap, there would be a strong likelihood of a meltdown around 8pm. Let's say she goes down at 3pm. She usually stays down until 5 or even 5:30. But on the rare occasion, she will wake up at 3:40 and after half an hour of just playing in her crib (no crying), she is just up. This then means that she will need to stay up from 3:40 to 9pm. That's not a big deal for an adult or even a toddler. But for a 7-month-old, that is a long stretch of time without a nap. She is not used to getting a third nap anymore so she will be awake...but life is just miserable for her parents on the occasions that she does have meltdowns!
...I often need to remind myself: It is NOT her fault. It's not her fault if she wakes up earlier than normal. It's not her fault if she doesn't want to nurse or eat. It's especially not her fault if she poops all the time.
...I stress out about short/missed naps a lot. But, you know, it all usually works out in the end. She just learns to be flexible :)
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| Isn't she lovely? |
...It feels like I just wrote the 7th month review a couple of weeks ago. And now she's already 8 months old?! I feel like she's growing really fast. This might be because I'm going back to school in two months (*gulp*).
...Nursing a child with new [really sharp] teeth = scary. If she's playing with something and biting on it
just before latching on, it's almost a guarantee that she will bite. So, not on purpose. Otherwise, she has not purposely bitten me while nursing...yet.
...Eating bean stew for 3 days in a row makes for a very farty baby.
...Sometimes, I feel guilty that all my conversations revolve around baby. Because being a mom is my full time job, it is hard for me to think about other things. As much as I crave for real, rich conversations that are not baby related, I find that my mind will always wander back into thinking about Camille.
...Many of my friends say that around 7 or 8 months is when a mom will start to want another one. Yep, pretty much!!
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| Daddy loves Camille a little bit, I think. :) |
