Helen's milestones at 9 weeks old

8 weeks old

Well, she definitely looks like a baby now (not a newborn). She is sleeping much less, and getting to be interactive. We are starting to see a bit of her personality.

She seems reasonably easy-going, but more sober than giddy. A grin tends to be hard fought and won. She will typically give a nice smile to almost anyone when they first greet her and smile at her (assuming that she is well-fed and content at the time). After that first smile, though, all bets are off. No wasted giggling. I remember the other kids being much more likely to smile at this age, but then again, maybe my memory is off. And she isn't crabby, so I am not complaining.

She coos just a bit. I realized last week when I was home alone with her for one of the first times when I wasn't trying to either nap or frantically get something done for work that I don't talk to her as much as I did with the other kids. That is kind of sad, but a reality. When I am with Helen, I am likely to be working on the computer, or talking to John, or helping James with homework or Maggie with piano practice. So Helen hears plently of words, but they just aren't as much to her. I have vowed to try to improve that a bit.



Some quiet time with Mom. James took this picture, where Helen is almost 8 weeks old. 

 She can pretty reliably roll over from her front to back. If she is laid down on her stomach with her arms up front by her head, she will push her head and chest up to look around, then flip over and roll to her back. I don't think the roll is intentional, since she then generally proceeds to: 1) look startled  2) kick like a turtle on its back, 3) cry with an angry sound. I guess she will need to learn how to roll back the other way, soon.

She is very easy at night. Somewhere between 9 and 11 PM, she gets fussy and wants to sleep. If I am not yet ready to go to bed, Jeremy lies her on her tummy on a quilt on the floor next to us, where we can watch her. She sleeps very happily that way. (Flip her over on her back and she will be awake almost instantly - spitting up, gagging, flailing arms and legs. Apparently she, like all our other kids, never got the memo from the AAP about sleeping on her back.) Otherwise, she will sometimes sleep tucked up in her carseat, but this is less reliable. Then, when I go to bed, I take her with me and we nurse to sleep. She sleeps quite well for as long as I will stay in bed with her, sometimes as much as 8 or 9 hours. Of course, she eats once or twice during that time, but she is pretty independent now so only have to wake up to help her get started. I can't complain. (She is even polite enough to rarely poop during the night, so I don't get up to change diapers much anymore.)

9 weeks old and sleeping like a baby (in her carseat, in this instance). She doesn't really suck her thumb, as this picture might appear, but only occasionally sucks her fists a bit.