Things sure are changing around here these days. Just when I start to get comfortable in a routine with Reese we hit a growth spurt or a transition and things change again. Here’s what’s new:
* Reese stood for the first time yesterday for over a minute without holding onto anything. Of course I placed her on her feet and gave her something (my iPhone) to hold so she would be distracted from trying to sit down immediately, which is what she usually does. She is definitely in no hurry to start stomping along on her own though, so I think we’ve got awhile before Reese will really be a “toddler”.
* Reese has always been a pretty good eater with finger foods and I was just starting to count my lucky stars that she seemed to eat any fruit or veggie I dared put in front of her (did I ever mention that she doesn’t have any interest in eating grain products like bread, crackers, or even cheerios?) Dum Dum Dum…
The picky eating stage has set in. I had hoped it would never happen to my sweet girl, but it has. Foods that she would once stuff with both hands into her mouth at alarming rates now gets thrown off her tray in disgust. I am beside myself trying to figure out what to feed this child. She can’t live on fruit alone! So far the winning foods are: bananas, watermelon, peaches, peas, avacados, raisins, toast and almost any other member of the fruit family. The losers include: scrambled eggs, PB&J sandwiches, veggie patties, spaghetti, pasta, cheerios, beans, and the list goes on…The worst is that sometimes she will scarf something I make the first time, so I get all excited that I have found something new she will eat, then she won’t ever eat that meal again.
I’m frustrated.
*We are also going through some really rough sleep issues. Reese has been weird about naps for about 2 weeks now. She will go down for a morning nap and act tired when I put her down for her afternoon nap but then she just cries the whole time. Or she won’t take her morning nap and then she is so tired by the time her afternoon nap rolls around she won’t sleep.
So I figured she is ready to go down to one nap a day right? I thought she was a little young for that, but all the signs were pointing that way. After the last two days I’m pretty sure that’s not the case either. She has been a mess! She is cranky and tired and she cries at the drop of the hat. I don’t know what to do, honestly. Any pieces of advice? I’m pretty sure she’s not teething, and she’s not sick. Argggh!
*Reesey and I are home alot more these days except for our daily outing to the gym. So Reese has had a lot more opportunities to play by herself with her toys. Lately she has been obsessed with taking things out and putting things back into containers. Whether it be laundry, blocks, even shoes. She will sit forever with her bucket and picking up toys and putting them into the bucket one by one, then taking them out and putting them back in again. I love peeking in on her while she’s playing quietly by herself, it’s totally cute.
*Reese is catching onto a few of the baby signs I have been showing her for months. She knows “more” and “all done”, although she still needs to be prompted to use them sometimes instead of whining. She can also show you where her head is and where “mama’s head” is when asked.
* Did I mention the whining? Yes, there is a lot of whining these days. I think the babe is a bit frustrated that she can’t tell us what she wants. It’s annoying. When she wants what I’m eating/holding/using, she whines. When she wants me to pick her up she throws herself at my legs, and she whines. When she wants more food on her tray, she whines.
My ears hurt.
Things they be a-changin’. Some things for the better, umm…we’ll work on the rest.
