Week 36 – Blah, Blah, Blah

Elise has been cooing and “chatting” since she was a few weeks old and “scream-talking” since she was a few months old, so the blabbering thing is nothing new. However, all of the noises that she makes have been vowel sounds until a few weeks ago. Now, consonant sounds may not seem like anything exciting if you do not have children or your children are 3 years old and never stop jabbering on, but this is a very exciting milestone for our little one.

About a month ago, Elise said “Ba” while we were in BJ’s (obviously she is a genius as she was trying to communicate that she knew we were in “Ba”- Jay’s) and we acted like she’d just scored perfect on her SAT’s and said nothing but “ba” to her for like two weeks, but “ba” must have been a fluke because she didn’t really do it again. She continued with her screaming vowel coos until about two weeks ago when her “ahhhhh” turned into a very distinct “blah”. It is the cutest thing, watching her move her mouth like she’s having a conversation with you, saying “blah, blah, blah, blah” in a conversational rhythm. When we say “blah, blah, blah” back to her she says it back to us, as though having a very serious discussion, perhaps about her preference for applesauce over squash or her fondness of bath-time.

Who knows what she is trying to say, but she’s trying to say something. It is times like these I would love to know what is going on in her little head. What does she think about? What does she dream about? What is she trying to say? We are still waiting with baited breath for her to say “ma-ma” or “da-da” and we have a slight competition going over which she will say first. (Her Oma has thrown her hat in the ring too, prompting Ellie to say “Oma” constantly, but I think that one is a little harder and less likely).

In other news, last week Elise had her 6 month wellness check up (only two months behind!) and is growing well. She is up to 16lbs 10 oz (28th percentile for weight) and 26 inches tall (48th percentile for height) and is on track with her development. The doctor said that it was ok to cut out a bottle and add in a solid feeding, which is exciting for me because it means less quality time for me and the pump.

So now she is eating milk 4 times a day and solids 3 times a day so it feels like she is always eating! She has recently taken a loathing to bibs, so the whole time she is eating, she is ripping her bib off and throwing it unceremoniously onto the floor. This results in us searching on the floor for the bib and trying to put it back on through protests. This whole process also results in a colorful smattering of sweet potatoes and bananas all over her clothes. And I think that the daycare workers have completely given up even trying to put a bib on because the whole thing is such a hassle, so everyday we pick her up she looks like a grubby mess. It is starting to get embarrassing to take her into public! I can feel the stares of strangers thinking “If you can’t afford laundry detergent you shouldn’t have a baby.”

But, what can you do? We have started to use bibs that snap instead of Velcro, so she tugs and tugs and screams but can’t get the bib off – so she may be mad but is a little cleaner. The jury is still out on whether all the fuss is worth it.