Week 10 - The First Posession & Other Recognizable Things

Each week our little American baby becomes more engaged, more alert, more fun and more possessive. The right to private property may be the single most important aspect to our American society and so you can understand my joy when my infant daughter showed the first signs of caring for a possession. Affie, the giraffe hand puppet, has quickly become one of her favorite things in the world. She clings to it, sucks on his paws and ears and generally coos when he's hanging out with her. Mind you, there are few things (not including rocking or bouncing) that calm our child when she is crying/screaming. We all love Affie for his powers. Meredith pointed out to me that she clings to cloth diapers and that these too calm her. But honestly, can we count a diaper as a possession? Thus, Affie is our man, er, her man, er Giraffe.

Other possessions our little angel loves include us, her momma and daddy. No, seriously, this week it really seems that she recognizes us as more than just the people who a) feed her or b) bring her to the person who feeds her. Quick Story: Every morning, after Ellie is awake, changed and fed and Daddy has said his goodbyes for the morning, she is placed in her crib so she can say good morning to all of her hanging critters on the jungle mobile - and usually, Meredith is able to get a few things done (like shower!). However, one day this week, Elise was in no mood to say good morning to her jungle friends. Meredith laid her down and went to wash her face, but Ellie was in full eyes-shut-tight-red-faced-fuss mode. Meredith did not pick her up, just watched her for a second, and when Ellie opened her eyes, saw her mom looking down at her and immediately stopped fussing and smiled. She just wanted one of her favorite things - her momma.
Recognizing things is just part of what is going on in her little mind right now. It's amazing how many small things change with her every single day. We have spent the past ten weeks getting to know her likes and dislikes - the way she likes to be held, the toys she likes to play with, the things she likes to look at, etc.. We spend time playing with target panda (need to see it to explain), playing "bouncy-bouncy", and holding her over our shoulders like a sack of potatoes...but then just as we get used to doing something... then she changes, and we have to adapt. The changes don't tend to be major. In fact, if we weren't taking a minute by minute approach to her life we'd probably never notice, but we're so lucky to be able to take that minute by minute approach. It's amazing how quickly she is growing up and we are fascinated by the small changes that happen each day. She is holding her head up more, prefers to be held so that she can see what's going on, follows you with her eyes, smiles a lot, coos like she's trying to have a conversation and those sorts of things. She even giggled for the first time the other day! Sure, they are easy things for us, but these are major milestones for our little baby!

As the biggest sign that she is growing and changing, Meredith put away the first batch of baby clothes that she has outgrown this week. Yes, Ellie is now too big for her Newborn (5-8.5 pound) clothes, and is even too long for some of her 0-3 month sleepers already. It's a little sad to put those things away - it's like closing the first chapter of her infancy. But we continue to be thrilled and excited by all of the changes and all of the other milestones, big and small, to come.