Rolling over?

Sherrie tried very hard this morning to roll over front to back and we tried to encourage her by smiling and clapping well done when she did a 3/4 roll. It was so gratifying to see that she was trying so hard.. even though she got a bit frustrated, she rested for awhile before starting again. I'm glad my baby doesn't give up easily. I'm confident she will roll over soon - it better not be on the changing table during a diaper change though! haha..

She is certainly growing very fast. She can now hold the red ball firmly in her hands and wave it about.. she can also throw it away if she wants to. Also, her hands are now her favourite toy. She tries to put her whole hand in her mouth and if that doesn't work, then it will be her thumb or fingers. And she takes great pleasure in doing so, such that if you take them out of her mouth while she is sucking, she will wail and throw a fuss. And believe me, that's not something you want to hear or try pacifying. The sucking noises she makes are so loud that it can almost wake us up during the night.

I believe she is also growing out of her swaddle.. almost literally. Two of them given by our friends are really getting too small for her and with her strength and wiggling she almost always breaks free of it. Sometimes we wake in the middle of the night to see her hands waving about. Haha... I guess soon we won't swaddle her - problem is when we don't do it, she will try to pull the milk bottle out of her mouth and cry immediately when that is done

. And when we don't, she can't sleep on her own and stay asleep for long... meaning more tiring afternoons and nights! How to stop? I guess she will find her own way to do so and i' shouldn't worry.

Oh yes, we've started carrying her by her armpits and putting her against our chests. She likes it and we can now carry her in the baby carrier. Although a little troublesome to put her in it, it's so comfy that she can fall asleep in it. That's what she did when we went to the Botanic Gardens yesterday and we felt so bad to have to take her out of it to put her back in the car seat. The trip was really enjoyable, and we will definitely do it again. On the same note, she is also abel to sit unsupported against the pillow on our bed. Can't wait for her to be able to sit up on her own.

I notice that Sherrie is very attentive when we read to her so we've started borrowing books for her to read to her. She likes the big attractive pictures and funny noises that some books have in their text. She literally laughs and chuckles to her self. And of course, we laugh along. Anyway, i'm going to try to read a new book to her everyday and then repeat.

Having fun with Sherrie

I am having so much fun with Sherrie! Having had 2 weeks with her for almost 12 whole hours a day (Without assistance) seemed almost daunting to me, but it turned out quite well. I guess through it all, I got to know her even better. She learns so many new things that I can't quite keep up to update.

As of 2 weeks ago, she weighs 6.2 kg and is 61cm long. When I look at her in the rocker, she has certainly filled it out and now when I unswaddle her she is arching her back because she wants to have more space to flip flop about. She sways her hands with determination and raises her legs to indicate that she'd much rather be on her playground. I think very soon we gotta donate the rocker :P

She has also grown much stronger. She can now come out of the swaddle by herself through squirming about and before you know it, you see her hands flying in the air or palms up next to her face. She even had a small scratch on her face cos it happened before I had done her weekly trimming of nails (these nails grow too fast on such small fingers!). So now I really have to tighten the swaddle much to her discomfort.

Besides putting her hands in her mouth, she can now quite confidently grasp objects and hold them in her hands. She can also bat the ones that she likes.. for now, she likes the toy that Lynette bought her and the Barney that my brother-in-law got for her. Of course, she can also throw them when she is frustrated with them. She has learnt to grab her own shirt and her thighs as well, leaving marks in her flesh. Oh yes, she has also learnt to remove her own pacifier. Talk about independence and determination! I intend to wean her off her pacifier at about 6 months. Hopefully she will be receptive to it.

I think she will roll over soon. When playing on the gym, she keeps trying to twist and turn but hasn't gotten the knack of it yet. Her head and bum still remain parallel to the ground but she tries furiously to twist her back and waist to turn to the left. She really tries so hard that i'm so proud of her. I think in 2 weeks time she would be able to flip to the left side already....

Her sounds and reactions have also changed. For instance, she now screams with delight when happy.. She also now laughs at things and smiles at familiar faces. She loves looking at herself in the mirror because she thinks its another baby looking at her. She promptly smiles when she sees her reflection. It's so cute to see the deliberate smile!! I must take a picture of her doing so.

Oh yes, now I can lift her by her armpits as her head is much stronger. Of course we still need to support her neck but it really is much easier to lift her up. The next stage would be for her to sit up on her own. I am really looking forward to it!!

Add-ons

I forgot to add that Sherrie has the recent new developments:

1. She has started putting her fingers and whatever she can grab into her mouth!

2. She squeals when she's happy, and the squeals are full of air.

3. She thumps her legs at night when she's wet, dirty or wants milk. Then she starts to make sounds. The thumping wakes V and I up cos she literally raises the legs high up in the air and then lets them down onto the mattress with a force.

:) One more pic of my darling.

Sherrie is 3 months old!

Sherrie went for her 5-in-1 jabs on Monday this week, meaning that she is now 3 months old! She is 60cm and a good 6.2kg. The ped commented that she is a good weight and is eating very well. I am so thankful! In fact, i couldn't ask for a better baby. Sure, after the jab she got a bit feverish and had a fretful Tuesday but other than that, she really is great. Like this morning, I couldnt' get to bed after expressing milk at 4am and when V left for work at 745 I wondered how I was going to last the day with so little sleep. I spoke nicely to Sherrie and persuaded her to let me sleep so that i can take better care of her. I put her on my bed next to me and patted her till both of us fell asleep, till 10am! Thank goodness she responded to my patting. When i woke up, she didn't even cry.. Her hands had come out of her swaddle and she was looking patiently at me. It's not the first time this has happened! She really is a sweetie.

On the

developmental side, she has started to grab things and hold them with her fingers. Now she enjoys putting her hands together, almost as if she is praying! And she will hold the Eeyore and the ball because they produce sounds when she squeezes them or throws them. She is also good at footsie... hehe, yes when I place the ball in between her legs, she will move them and can almost balance them! She enjoys it because of the rustling sound (thanks to the squishing of the plastic in the ball). She also does it to the Eeyore, only there is a bell inside.

V has bought a Itouch and downloaded baby flashcards! It is so interactive and comprises 2000 words. It is colourful and educational and Sherrie loves to look at it. She will listen intently when I read the words to her, just like when I read the book to her. I can't wait to read them to her again later when she wakes up.

Her head control is getting better.. Her tummy time is fantastic and she can hold it up at least 2 mins. Of course, some days are better than others because she has more energy, but i think it must be very hard to do that for a baby; and very tiring too. Everytime after she does tummy time, she is tired and starts crying.. promptly after that, she goes to sleep.. hehe, this mommy has found a way to make her baby sleep! Another development is that when we carry her in her swaddle, she will lift up her own head to look around instead of just leaning on our arms. Of course she doesn't do it all the time, but she has begun to do it quite often.. It is so cute to see her do that.

The sounds she produces these days are so adorable. I have reached the stage when I can more or less tell what kind of sounds they are. There are the hungry sounds, tired sounds, whining sounds, teh pau sounds, happy gleeful gurgles and coos and of cos, the wailing. These few days however, she has started saying 'uh uh uh' and quite loud at that! I'm still trying to figure out that one. Haha... The good thing is that i've recorded these sounds and I'm sure time to come i will cherish these delightful tunes. Oh yes, she enjoys talking to V since he only comes back at night and literally she will make these sounds continuously for 10 mins, as if to make up for lost time. The other day, I put her on V's side of the bed to swaddle her up and she promptly started talking! Haha... i think she could smell him and thought he was near.

Physically, since she has grown in length, some of her clothes cannot fit her already. We might have to soon buy new clothes for homewear. She has lots of gif

ts from people and i think she will slowly take her time to wear them when we go out. They are not so convenient for home wear, but look nice when outside. Some of the clothes are long sleeved - not so practical for S'pore weather. It is getting increasingly hot and humid and thank goodness for aircon!!

Oh yes, we went to meet up with a nanny (through an agency) and she seems nice. I'm planning to put Sherrie with her full time from 730am to 730pm everyday so that I can slowly go back to work. Initially I had planned to go back when the 4 months was up, on half load, but after considering the amount of work I might have to do, and the fact that my milk supply will most definitely dwindle when I go back, V and I have made a joint decision that I will extend 2 months to complete breastfeeding. At least I would have done my duty. I will still continue after that, for as long as I can cope with it.. seriously, pumping aint' fun.

I am looking forward to the next stage for her - rolling over, sitting up, eating solids.. it will be so exciting! And I cannot wait.