Monday 2 March 2015

#Microblog Mondays: Do you ask what the birds say?


Microblog Mondays

There being only 28 days in February, March 1st was AJ's 4 month birthday.

4 month milestones:

  • Last Friday, AJ went to her first Celtic music concert! I love traditional music, and of course I've been playing many varieties for AJ on her iPod since she was born. We saw Lunasa from Ireland. AJ did great! She sat in our laps, then fell asleep(!) during the first set. Intermission, had a snack. For the second set, I put her in the mei tai carrier and danced her around. She loved it! I don't like sitting down anyway so she was a great excuse to spend the evening on my feet. We didn't have high expectations going in; I figured if we made it to the intermission I would be happy! but we all had a great evening with a wonderful band.
  • AJ smiles at almost everyone. She hasn't shown any fear of strangers yet. I wonder if she even likes them better sometimes; for example we take her out to a restaurant she gives the waitress a big smile but not me hahahaha. She also seems to enjoy crowded, noisy places. She will look around with interest, or fall asleep without a care in the world. I know she's still very little, but if her personality continues to develop this way I think we might have an extrovert baby.
  • Accomplishments: sucking her thumb (she can soothe herself this way), rolling onto her side from her back, becoming more deliberate in her attempts to get and maintain attention. Putting her hands together, and recently, putting her feet together. Reaching and grabbing with more intent and success. Trying to grab her feet now  too. Supporting and moving her head with more confidence. She's almost laughing: it still sounds a bit breathy but she's adding syllables.
  • Likes: thumb and finger sucking, playing in her rain forest play gym, grabbing and batting at things, being carried over the shoulder, music and movement. She is also liking being in a sitting position more. Experimenting with sounds. Shrieking and gurgling are favourites right now. 
  • Dislikes: having to wait for things. Red lights in the car. Tummy time (still). As her strength increases she occasionally tries harder to move around during tummy time, but often she will just lie there apathetically, like she's not sure WTF is going on. She can sorta lift her head, but she seems to think it's not worth the effort. Waking up from naps. Sometimes she wakes up happy, sometimes grumpy and honestly I have no idea why one or the other.
  • AJ still sleeps through the night, between 4 and 7 hour stretches. Based on what I read about other babies, I keep expecting her to start having trouble sleeping, but so far she's fine. She still goes to bed between 10 and 11 o'clock I guess because we are weird night owl parents. Recently she has been fighting naps however. We never exactly had a schedule, but for a few weeks she was pretty predictable: about 3 naps a day at around 11, 2 and 5, and sometimes in the evening. Now I'm not so sure....it can be a long day when she is tired and doesn't want to sleep! Maybe I need to wake her up earlier....but then I have to wake up earlier too lol. 


March 1st is also the day when I let myself start thinking about spring. I live in a part of the world where winter can stretch out from September till May, though we do get breaks in the form of warm spells called chinooks. (During a chinook the temperature can rise as much as twenty degrees in a few hours, and people flock outdoors, some tramping through the melting snow in their shorts and flip-flops. Less positively, many people get awful headaches and mood swings.) This winter was very mild, so I can't complain much. Still, it's not really spring when you know that tomorrow can be -25C and snowing. So until we're past February, I try to avoid even considering the possibility of spring renewal.

March can be be frostbitten and stormy, but it's also the month where the season starts to turn toward spring. I love spring. Even - perhaps especially - the early, chilly weeks of spring when it's too cold for buds on the trees and the landscape is brown, not green. There's something invigorating in the smell of puddles and mud and melt-off, and there is birdsong everywhere.

This year I feel especially privileged to share spring with AJ. It snowed a few days after her birth, so although we've been outside often during the warmer times, she is a winter baby. How fun it will be to share the sights, sounds and smells of spring with her.

One of my friends gave AJ a book of nursery rhymes, and this one, entitled "Answer to a Child's Question" describes the essence of how I feel about spring. (The birds of course are European birds: I feel like I should do a rewrite mentioning the magpie, crow, chickadee and grey jay as well as the robin!) Is anyone else looking forward to spring, or something else in the next few months?

Do you ask what the birds say? The  robin, the dove
The linnet and thrush say: "I love and I love!"
In winter they are silent - the wind is so strong
What it says I don't know, but it sings a loud song.
But green leaves and blossoms, and sunny warm weather,
And singing and loving - all come back together.
But the lark is so brimful of gladness and love
The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings and he sings, and forever sings he:
"I love my love, and my love loves me."

Learn more about Microblog Mondays. Much to read there!

22 comments:

  1. It seems like babies are either great sleepers at night or naps. Not usually both. Until she was 7 months old, Paloma slept through the night. It was heaven! I hope AJ continues to sleep well at night for you.

    Glad you all enjoyed the concert!

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    1. Thanks, I know there are as many opinions and experiences re: sleep as there are parents and babies! For the most part AJ's sleep has not been a source of stress so far: we are lucky I think and will enjoy it as long as it lasts! there's nothing like those long fussy days though to fill me with self-doubt.

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  2. SB sleeps well at night but basically doesn't nap unless we hold or carry her. And she's rolling onto her side, too! I'm wondering when she'll make the flip over to her front...

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    1. Ha, SB and AJ are quite similar developmentally, it seems. AJ is trying hard to roll onto her front. I don't know what she'll do once she gets there, as she doesn't like being on her front. Sometimes I help her go the rest of the way but she doesn't appreciate that much lol.

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  3. My daughter was a winter baby, too, and I remember feeling like it was a new world when spring came; she was starting to appreciate her environment just as it was coming alive. :) Enjoy!

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    1. yes, it is nice she will get to experience spring and the outside (hopefully it is not too cold) as her awareness of environment increases.

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  4. Just when you think you've got them figured out, they grow and their patterns shift. I miss watching those sweet baby naps! I'm looking forward to brighter and warmer days, but where I live that usually means more rain!

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    1. so true! rain sounds wonderful to me; I love the smell when it rains! whatever is a novelty haha

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  5. I remember sleep (or lack of sometimes) in the early days. We'll be experiencing it again soon...not sure if I dread it or not. lol
    Enjoy this spring with AJ! I'm sure it will be a blast.

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    1. We've been fairly lucky with sleep; I hope you are too. Nothing like leep deprivation to make you doubt your sanity or parenting skills though. All the best.

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  6. I can not wait for Spring! And Summer is my absolute favorite! It is going to be so much fun with our babies. I bet any day now AJ will laugh and roll over, sounds like she is so close.

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    1. Yes, it will be adorable when she does! the progress is so gradual, sometimes I almost do not notice it, and then one days she is just doing a lot of things and it's normal for her. Spring will be so fun.

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  7. Very cute pictures. I was cracking up over your description of tummy time and her attitude of "what's the point?"

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    1. hahaha. Thanks. AJ has a biggish head, so I think it is still a lot of work to lift it. She's just more motivated to do fun things - as we all are!

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  8. What a cutie pie!!!! I just want to squeeze her cheeks…. :)

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  9. Ah, based on your comment about Chinooks and another mention you made on one of Unpregnant Chickens posts, I have a pretty good guess of where you live (because I am not so far to the North). I've now found 4 or 5 people in Alberta through blogging. I can't believe how many are so close, in such a vast world of bloggers! It's awesome :) We could form a pretty good community here in our own backyard.

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    1. Awesome, thanks for leaving a note! Yes, when I started blogging I didn't think there was anybody close by, but now I'm finding people hahaha! I will check out your blog when I can.

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  10. I love autumn best, but I think spring comes a close second. There is something magical about these changing times of the year. I don't think I could ever live anywhere that doesn't experience seasonal variation!

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    1. I know, I never get tired of the change of seasons. I like autumn to when we get a real autumn (like this year). Sometimes winter just starts right after summer. :-)

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  11. It's in the forties today, a real heat wave! The sun is out, and the several feet of snow we have is melting so rapidly the drops from the roof sound like a rainstorm. I love it, but the flooding is going to be bad this year. I hope you get some gorgeous days soon!

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    1. wonderful! this whole week is warm and I am looking forward to it!

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