It is .. (drumroll please!) ... "dzzzzzzzz" or sometimes "thzzzzzzzz" /ðzzzzz/ for you linguini types.
The Google translate page for Monkey > English was down, but Hubs was on the ball. Houston, we have "juice". I repeat, we have "juice"!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
First words?!
I know I've implied that the Monkey has already spoken his first word (and doesn't he make "dah!" do a lot of work??), but really, for truly really this time, I think we might have a genuine, actual first word.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Mimicry
Lately, it seems that the Monkey has been a bit keener to imitate us. We can now get him to make a greater range of sounds than his favourite "dah!" simply by making the noises at him. We say "beebee!" and he does his best. We say "maamaa" and so does he. It's interesting at this point to see that while he can confidently point to a whole bunch of pictures, and while he can imitate a limited set of sounds, he doesn't yet have the idea of bringing these two concepts together and actually using the different sounds to identify different objects.
I think this is probably almost as frustrating for him as it is for me, as he stands pointing up at the bookcase. "Dah!", he says. I look up. "You want a book?" I pull one out and hand it to him. "Nanana!" he says, waving his hand impatiently, then points again. "Dah!", a little more insistently. "The ribbons?". Again, I'm rejected with "Na"s and more hand waving. Several "Dah"s later, and he's almost on the verge of tears, before I finally realise (through a process of elimination) that it was the crayons he was after all long. I suspect he thinks I'm being purposefully obtuse - and as much as I'd rather not have crayon decorations all over the walls, I promise that this doesn't factor into my lack of Monkey language understanding.
Anyway - we have put his new found penchant for mimicry to a good purpose at meal times. He's not too fussy an eater, for which I'm thankful, but he's much keener to eat food he sees us putting away. The other night, Hubs was picking up broccoli florets, and biting the heads off the trees, so to speak. The Monkey watched this procedure for a little while before reaching out to our plates and whining to have his own broccoli tree to play with. So we obliged.
Well, I think in the end there were little bits of broccoli all through everything, but he did seem very pleased with his destruction of the foliage, and that's all that matters, right?
I think this is probably almost as frustrating for him as it is for me, as he stands pointing up at the bookcase. "Dah!", he says. I look up. "You want a book?" I pull one out and hand it to him. "Nanana!" he says, waving his hand impatiently, then points again. "Dah!", a little more insistently. "The ribbons?". Again, I'm rejected with "Na"s and more hand waving. Several "Dah"s later, and he's almost on the verge of tears, before I finally realise (through a process of elimination) that it was the crayons he was after all long. I suspect he thinks I'm being purposefully obtuse - and as much as I'd rather not have crayon decorations all over the walls, I promise that this doesn't factor into my lack of Monkey language understanding.
Anyway - we have put his new found penchant for mimicry to a good purpose at meal times. He's not too fussy an eater, for which I'm thankful, but he's much keener to eat food he sees us putting away. The other night, Hubs was picking up broccoli florets, and biting the heads off the trees, so to speak. The Monkey watched this procedure for a little while before reaching out to our plates and whining to have his own broccoli tree to play with. So we obliged.
Well, I think in the end there were little bits of broccoli all through everything, but he did seem very pleased with his destruction of the foliage, and that's all that matters, right?
Saturday, October 15, 2011
A day in the life at the zoo
It's been a while between posts, and much has happened. So much, that I shan't really bother to recount more than just the highlights .. Soooooo ..
The monkey is now officially a bipedal creature. It started around the end of July (at about 13 months), was consolidated in the first week of August, and after a short period of preferring to crawl rather than walk, he now walks everywhere - provided "everywhere" is "some place outside" where he can get his hands on leaves, earthmould, twigs, and random bits of dog poo. He's also a very keen hand-holder. At first, I thought this was due to a lack of confidence in his new style of perambulation, but I now figure that he just wants to ensure that an attentive parent is on hand at all times to "ooh" and "aah" at his latest accomplishment. The hand-holding also means we don't need to resort to the leash. Not that I mind using one, but he's not particularly cooperative - particularly when I don't want to go in a direction he does (middle of road, muddy ditch, into neighbourhood houses). At these points, he shows all the cooperativeness of a tethered cat.
He has 6 teeth now - top 4 incisors, and bottom 2. As yet, he uses these almost exclusively for food. He has only - so far as I can tell - accidentally bitten into living flesh, but it doesn't make it any less painful, I can tell you!
He can understand quite a few words now. Really useful ones, I might add, like "rhinoceros" (which I had to spell-check), "giraffe", and "tortoise" (notice a theme?). But he still doesn't produce anything recognisable. Whether it's due to an immature vocal tract or sheer bloody-mindedness, I couldn't say. Either way, we are finding new and exciting ways to interpret "dah!" (cat, star, door, daddy, ipad, phone, lights, mandarin... the list goes on!).
What else do you talk about regarding babies? Oh yeah, sleep. Well, in that department we have been lucky. Exceedingly lucky. SUPREMELY lucky. So far, at least. He's been a great sleeper - and in the last couple of months, we've been putting him in his cot wide awake for naps and bed, and he goes down like a lamb. Did I mention luckiness?? I'm certainly not putting it down to any rigorous sleep-training habits on our part - we went totally against all the literature, and he still worked it out. Hooooo-boy. Lucky, lucky, lucky.
There are days when I feel like a champion mother: I'm inspired to entertain him with walks or playing in the garden, or going for a swim, or splashing in the kitchen sink, or - I feel I've really made it as a SAHM here - squashing about some home-made playdough. Those are also the times when I've managed to feed him to my satisfaction - a breakfast of weetbix and fruit of various kinds, a lunch of home-made broccoli soup and fish patties, snacks of fruit & yoghurt and rice-cakes, and enough of whatever we happen to have for dinner. Those are the days I feel like supermum, and sadly, they seem to eventuate maybe once a month. Perhaps once a fortnight if I'm really lucky.
The more standard days go like this: It rains, so we're trapped inside. The Monkey is feeling frisky and chases the cats, trying to pull out their fur (sometimes getting a clobber for his trouble), or throwing things at them, producing supersonic ear-drum-rattling shrieks all the while. I follow the Monkey alternating between bellowing at him to leave the cats alone, and trying to distract him with some other activity. He brings me several books - I read about the first 2 pages of each before he runs off to fetch the next. I check my watch every 10 minutes wishing that it was his naptime. When it's time to eat, he systematically rejects any food which he's previously yummed down, either by throwing it on the floor, or by extruding it from his mouth so it lands with a nice sclop! in his lap. Occasionally if he's self-feeding, I'll think he's doing really well as the food disappears from the tray, only to find that he's been burying it under his bottom or between his legs. When you're buying a high-chair, I implore you to think just how easy it will be to clean after meals like this. The little sod will also choose these days to wake up early from his naps, ensuring that we have an extra long afternoon of the both of us going stir-crazy bored till dinner-time (forget about actually MAKING dinner - if I leave his side to go into the kitchen on one of these days, he'll stand at the gate red-faced and howling, and producing great resentful fat tears as if to show me just what a terrible mother I am). Man. Those are the days when I am exceedingly happy when his bedtime finally rolls around!
Did I mention how lucky we are that he sleeps so well? It surely is his saving grace on days like these.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Don't Feed the Monkey!
The advantage of being a stay-at-home mum (which, to all intents and purposes I am, at the moment) is that you - theoretically - have time. Gallons of time. Oodles of time. A plethora of seconds, and indeed, sometimes minutes!
Anyway, like a good mum, I have decided to put some of this precious extra time into food. You know, nutritous, home-cooked, so full of whole-meal flour it's indistinguishable from horse chaff. Each thing I make, I present to the Monkey with a small fanfare, and await his reaction. They are something like as follows:
lasagna (special low-salt variety, with formula bechamel): frantic arm-waving to fend off incoming spoon. Upon distraction (a sudden loud shriek from mother tends to result in freezing and open-mouthed gormless expression), spoonful of food was watered down with large amount of drool, and extruded. Baby 1, Mum 0
fruity muffins (no sugar, LOTS of fruit): I actually thought these were quite tasty, plenty of grated apple and currants meant they were really sweet enough. But apparently far too moist. Poked about with finger for 10 minutes, then tossed overbard. Baby 2, Mum 0
apple-oat biscuits: I can't blame him with these. They turned out soft, rather than crunchy (as I'd hoped), and tasted far too mealy and oaty to me. And they bounced nicely. Baby 3, Mum 0
banana bread: First part of my attempt to make rusks - thought I'd leave some of the original loaf un-rusked to see if he'd take to it. He took it, and experimented with its aerodynamic properties. Baby 4, Mum 0
banana bread rusks: Second part of the rusk experiment. Slices of banana bread dried till hard and crisp. Again, pretty tasty as far as I'm concerned, but probably a reasonably full set of teeth required for proper consumption. To his credit, he did actually attempt to gnaw the edge of a piece before deciding I was playing a practical joke with him, and ... yup, you guessed it. Baby 5, Mum 0
pumpkin & cheese scones: Given up on sweet snacks, thought maybe his tastes ran to the savoury. He likes cheese. He eats pumpkin without too much of a fight. He loves bread... so, I thought I might be in with a chance, here. They turned out a luminous orange - like something scraped off the bottom of one of the Chernobyl reactors. He spent a large amount of time dissecting a scone into its component crumbs, sending each crumb sailing into carpet oblivion - although, given the colour of the carpet, and the colour of the crumbs, not nearly oblivion enough for his mother. Baby 6, Mum 0
Tomorrow, we're feeding him McDonald's!
Anyway, like a good mum, I have decided to put some of this precious extra time into food. You know, nutritous, home-cooked, so full of whole-meal flour it's indistinguishable from horse chaff. Each thing I make, I present to the Monkey with a small fanfare, and await his reaction. They are something like as follows:
lasagna (special low-salt variety, with formula bechamel): frantic arm-waving to fend off incoming spoon. Upon distraction (a sudden loud shriek from mother tends to result in freezing and open-mouthed gormless expression), spoonful of food was watered down with large amount of drool, and extruded. Baby 1, Mum 0
fruity muffins (no sugar, LOTS of fruit): I actually thought these were quite tasty, plenty of grated apple and currants meant they were really sweet enough. But apparently far too moist. Poked about with finger for 10 minutes, then tossed overbard. Baby 2, Mum 0
apple-oat biscuits: I can't blame him with these. They turned out soft, rather than crunchy (as I'd hoped), and tasted far too mealy and oaty to me. And they bounced nicely. Baby 3, Mum 0
banana bread: First part of my attempt to make rusks - thought I'd leave some of the original loaf un-rusked to see if he'd take to it. He took it, and experimented with its aerodynamic properties. Baby 4, Mum 0
banana bread rusks: Second part of the rusk experiment. Slices of banana bread dried till hard and crisp. Again, pretty tasty as far as I'm concerned, but probably a reasonably full set of teeth required for proper consumption. To his credit, he did actually attempt to gnaw the edge of a piece before deciding I was playing a practical joke with him, and ... yup, you guessed it. Baby 5, Mum 0
pumpkin & cheese scones: Given up on sweet snacks, thought maybe his tastes ran to the savoury. He likes cheese. He eats pumpkin without too much of a fight. He loves bread... so, I thought I might be in with a chance, here. They turned out a luminous orange - like something scraped off the bottom of one of the Chernobyl reactors. He spent a large amount of time dissecting a scone into its component crumbs, sending each crumb sailing into carpet oblivion - although, given the colour of the carpet, and the colour of the crumbs, not nearly oblivion enough for his mother. Baby 6, Mum 0
Tomorrow, we're feeding him McDonald's!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
W-w-w- .. almost one!
Crikey. There were times I never thought we'd make it this far. But tomorrow, the Monkey turns a whole one, and his parents will celebrate their one-year anniversary of parenthood with copious amounts of champagne and cake . AFTER he's in bed, of course!
I have been keeping notes on Monkey development, but somehow never found time to publish. Part of this was due to the fact that I wanted to draw daft MS-paint pics for the blog entries, but the all-new-baby-safe computer position means no mouse any more (PLUS I have to stand to use the computer!). YOU try drawing recognisable pictures with a computer nipple - go on, I dare ya!
So to recap most of May:
We all came down with the hideous stomach virus. Some of us lost 4kg (fortunately not the Monkey!). If you're looking for a sure-fire way to shed the last of your pregnancy kilos, I can't recommend a more brutally effective solution.
As to milestones of various kinds:
Physical: the Monkey is still very much a crawler and a cruiser, but in the last couple of weeks, he has started his first fumbling steps. We're members of a toy library here, so I checked out a walker, to see if he'd be into it. Turns out he is! He can get to his feet using the walker, and then push off in a straight line until he runs up against an obstacle. Unfortunately, he still hasn't reached the level of sophistication you get in those toy cars which can reverse and power off in another direction. He just keeps shoving forward until he face-plants into both the walker and the obstruction. I'm assuming there's a learning process at work here.
Verbal: No real recognisable first words as yet. Plenty of "da-da-de-di" type noises, which Hubs is certain means "Daddy". Fine. But then they also mean "Mummy", and "Cat", and "Ceiling", and "Light switch". What he DOES do, is make his attempt at a "miaow" noise when he sees either of the cats, or when he recognises a cat in a book. He also roars for anything vaguely resembling a lion. And I *do* mean vague. Apparently he roared at a plate with a doily on it the other day. You can see his point. Kinda. He also seems to use "ma-ma-maa" to mean "I want". If there's something he desperately yearns for that he can't get, it's all "mamamamaaaaa" in a suitably waily tone. If he's just being chatty and conversing, or labelling random things in a good-natured way, then we hear "de-di-da-da", plus untranscribable nasal snufflings, snortings, and wet splurtings.
Cognitive: Books are no longer just for eating!! Yay! Not that there's any pressure on him or anything ....
Anyway, now it's hard to tear him away from them, and our dressing routing in the evening goes: "Nappy first .. no darling - nappy before book. Yes, just hold still, and THEN we can read it .. Ok .. (insert book 1 here). Pyjama bottoms now. Look, don't flip about like that, it makes it all go much slower .. just sit STILL please .. (insert book 2 here) .. Ok, yes, we can have another book, but your top first, ok? BOTH arms in, thank you. No, we have to button it first - yes, ALL the buttons ... etc etc .. " Yes, I could be much harder, but hey. I kinda like reading to him.
Anyway, there's plenty more in my notes, but those are all the essentials. With any luck I'll get back on track with posts. Hmmm.
I have been keeping notes on Monkey development, but somehow never found time to publish. Part of this was due to the fact that I wanted to draw daft MS-paint pics for the blog entries, but the all-new-baby-safe computer position means no mouse any more (PLUS I have to stand to use the computer!). YOU try drawing recognisable pictures with a computer nipple - go on, I dare ya!
So to recap most of May:
We all came down with the hideous stomach virus. Some of us lost 4kg (fortunately not the Monkey!). If you're looking for a sure-fire way to shed the last of your pregnancy kilos, I can't recommend a more brutally effective solution.
As to milestones of various kinds:
Physical: the Monkey is still very much a crawler and a cruiser, but in the last couple of weeks, he has started his first fumbling steps. We're members of a toy library here, so I checked out a walker, to see if he'd be into it. Turns out he is! He can get to his feet using the walker, and then push off in a straight line until he runs up against an obstacle. Unfortunately, he still hasn't reached the level of sophistication you get in those toy cars which can reverse and power off in another direction. He just keeps shoving forward until he face-plants into both the walker and the obstruction. I'm assuming there's a learning process at work here.
Verbal: No real recognisable first words as yet. Plenty of "da-da-de-di" type noises, which Hubs is certain means "Daddy". Fine. But then they also mean "Mummy", and "Cat", and "Ceiling", and "Light switch". What he DOES do, is make his attempt at a "miaow" noise when he sees either of the cats, or when he recognises a cat in a book. He also roars for anything vaguely resembling a lion. And I *do* mean vague. Apparently he roared at a plate with a doily on it the other day. You can see his point. Kinda. He also seems to use "ma-ma-maa" to mean "I want". If there's something he desperately yearns for that he can't get, it's all "mamamamaaaaa" in a suitably waily tone. If he's just being chatty and conversing, or labelling random things in a good-natured way, then we hear "de-di-da-da", plus untranscribable nasal snufflings, snortings, and wet splurtings.
Cognitive: Books are no longer just for eating!! Yay! Not that there's any pressure on him or anything ....
Anyway, now it's hard to tear him away from them, and our dressing routing in the evening goes: "Nappy first .. no darling - nappy before book. Yes, just hold still, and THEN we can read it .. Ok .. (insert book 1 here). Pyjama bottoms now. Look, don't flip about like that, it makes it all go much slower .. just sit STILL please .. (insert book 2 here) .. Ok, yes, we can have another book, but your top first, ok? BOTH arms in, thank you. No, we have to button it first - yes, ALL the buttons ... etc etc .. " Yes, I could be much harder, but hey. I kinda like reading to him.
Anyway, there's plenty more in my notes, but those are all the essentials. With any luck I'll get back on track with posts. Hmmm.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sick and Tired!
We've had another milestone from the Monkey today. His first stomach virus. Oh. Yay.
The results so far (and at the time of writing, it's not even past 11am!): The bed sheets must be burned. My pyjamas must be burned. Large patches of carpet in the living room must be burned (or at least thoroughly disinfected).
I am continually amazed that something so small can (repeatedly!) regurgitate so much! The biggest challenge of the morning has been to provide the necessary comfort without soaking up too much of the Monkey's output. He would make a beeline for me when - I suppose - he started to feel a little uncomfortable. The first couple of times, I wasn't quick enough to work out the pattern of events, with the inevitable result being .. well .. inevitable. By the third ejection, I had a basin at the ready, and while it wasn't entirely splash-free (YOU try holding a 9 month old over a basin when all he wants is a cuddle!), at least the vast majority was contained.
*sigh*
Anyway, the support system here is pretty good, and a nurse has given me a list of things I need to do to keep him hydrated, etc, so I'm rather hoping that a) this is an extremely short-lived stomach virus, and b) I don't get it before he's kicked it. Or even better: c) I don't get it AT ALL!
Apart from this, things haven't changed remarkably from the last post. He crawls, he cruises. Very occasionally, he lets go and stands for a second unsupported before he has an SSM (Sudden Sitdown Malfunction). The notable changes have been more on the cognitive side. For the last week or so, he's worked out a couple of things.
1. He can put things in boxes
2. He can take things out of boxes
3. He can make mummy sing along with his silly musical snail toy
I've also seen him directly mimic someone - clapping, mostly - but this is still pretty rare. If we make 'ba-ba' noises at him, he just watches us quizzically, but certainly doesn't see the need to make the sounds himself. In fact, he doesn't really make much in the way of speech noise - most of his noises are sort of nasal grunts, sort of a "gloonggloong" noise, interspersed with the occasional "a-da!" or "rararawa"
He seems to be a lot more interactive - holding out his saliva-coated blocks as if to say "Go on, YOU have a chew, too!". He seems to understand "no!" and "uh-uh!" (yes, sadly we use these words far too frequently), though whether he obeys them or not is another matter. He also appears extremely intrigued by my layers of clothing. He'll stand by my chair, lifting up my jacket and top until he gets to some bare flesh, at which point he squeals with joy, and digs his fingers into folds. Nothing to make you more conscious of your muffin-tops than an inquisitive 9 month old!
I suppose the biggest milestone this month is actually mine. Until now, I don't think I'd quite grasped just how hard the transition from selfish to selfless was going to be. And nothing makes you realise the extent of your selfishness like a demanding dependant 24/7. Normally after a stressful day at work, I'd charge home, prostrate myself on a sofa, and decant the best part of a bottle of merlot into my gullet, pausing at brief intervals to insert a chocolate biscuit. Nowadays - if I'm lucky enough to have a work to escape to - I come home and take over Monkey-minding duties from a frazzled Hubs. If work is stressful, tough! If bills pile up, tough! If there's not enough time to make a nutritious meal for myself, tough! I now can appreciate just how much parents have to suck it up - particularly if they want to shield their beloved offspring from life's harsh realities.
The results so far (and at the time of writing, it's not even past 11am!): The bed sheets must be burned. My pyjamas must be burned. Large patches of carpet in the living room must be burned (or at least thoroughly disinfected).
I am continually amazed that something so small can (repeatedly!) regurgitate so much! The biggest challenge of the morning has been to provide the necessary comfort without soaking up too much of the Monkey's output. He would make a beeline for me when - I suppose - he started to feel a little uncomfortable. The first couple of times, I wasn't quick enough to work out the pattern of events, with the inevitable result being .. well .. inevitable. By the third ejection, I had a basin at the ready, and while it wasn't entirely splash-free (YOU try holding a 9 month old over a basin when all he wants is a cuddle!), at least the vast majority was contained.
*sigh*
Anyway, the support system here is pretty good, and a nurse has given me a list of things I need to do to keep him hydrated, etc, so I'm rather hoping that a) this is an extremely short-lived stomach virus, and b) I don't get it before he's kicked it. Or even better: c) I don't get it AT ALL!
Apart from this, things haven't changed remarkably from the last post. He crawls, he cruises. Very occasionally, he lets go and stands for a second unsupported before he has an SSM (Sudden Sitdown Malfunction). The notable changes have been more on the cognitive side. For the last week or so, he's worked out a couple of things.
1. He can put things in boxes
2. He can take things out of boxes
3. He can make mummy sing along with his silly musical snail toy
I've also seen him directly mimic someone - clapping, mostly - but this is still pretty rare. If we make 'ba-ba' noises at him, he just watches us quizzically, but certainly doesn't see the need to make the sounds himself. In fact, he doesn't really make much in the way of speech noise - most of his noises are sort of nasal grunts, sort of a "gloonggloong" noise, interspersed with the occasional "a-da!" or "rararawa"
He seems to be a lot more interactive - holding out his saliva-coated blocks as if to say "Go on, YOU have a chew, too!". He seems to understand "no!" and "uh-uh!" (yes, sadly we use these words far too frequently), though whether he obeys them or not is another matter. He also appears extremely intrigued by my layers of clothing. He'll stand by my chair, lifting up my jacket and top until he gets to some bare flesh, at which point he squeals with joy, and digs his fingers into folds. Nothing to make you more conscious of your muffin-tops than an inquisitive 9 month old!
I suppose the biggest milestone this month is actually mine. Until now, I don't think I'd quite grasped just how hard the transition from selfish to selfless was going to be. And nothing makes you realise the extent of your selfishness like a demanding dependant 24/7. Normally after a stressful day at work, I'd charge home, prostrate myself on a sofa, and decant the best part of a bottle of merlot into my gullet, pausing at brief intervals to insert a chocolate biscuit. Nowadays - if I'm lucky enough to have a work to escape to - I come home and take over Monkey-minding duties from a frazzled Hubs. If work is stressful, tough! If bills pile up, tough! If there's not enough time to make a nutritious meal for myself, tough! I now can appreciate just how much parents have to suck it up - particularly if they want to shield their beloved offspring from life's harsh realities.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Mobility Madness!
Yes, it's been a long time since I last posted, not because nothing has been happening in the Planet of the Monkey, but a lot of work suddenly landed on my plate and every time I sat down at my computer it was to be productive OR ELSE!
And while that was quite nice, it also means that I am very far behind with Monkey updates, because such a lot has been happening!
This will give you a fairly good idea of where we're at right now:
Yup, the Monkey has achieved verticality! And yup, he is extraordinarily happy in this state. He is also crawling about, traditional style - hands and knees. I can't remember exactly the moment it began - but the progression was funny to watch: he started off rocking on all fours in place. Then lifting up a leg for long periods of time, like a dog with a bladder problem. Then managing to move his arms and legs with the result that he travelled slowly backwards. Finally, after a few tantalising steps, the process clicked and he was off. The whole thing probably took him about 5 days to work out, at the end of which he was able to crawl while obviously focusing very hard on each limb as he moved it, and was still inclined to drop into his commando creep if he wanted to get anywhere fast. Over the last few days though, he's started to find his rhythm and occasionally even moves two limbs at once!
About a week and a half ago, he performed his first unassisted pull-to-stand on a chair, and now can happily pull himself on virtually anything. This makes him ecstatic and the cats nervous, as they're no longer safe on their sofa perches. We've also had to take our baby-proofing to the next level. He's just able to get his fingers over the top of the dining table, which means that anything sticking over the edge is fair game as far as he's concerned.
'Cruising' is the sport du jour - and it's been very interesting watching him getting his sense of balance. He can now make it between the sofa and his play pen, which involves switching his grip, stepping, and transferring his weight. Easy for us, but quite a concept for the Monkey! Unfortunately, this manoeuver brings him right up close to the stereo controls. Hello Volume Knob!! He's also worked out how to get down from his standing position, which is probably the latest development. Initially the only way down was by imitating a felled tree (if felled trees screeched and wailed for a good 15 minutes). But now he has a couple of methods. One I call the 'bottom bump', and the other is a very careful method of leaning forward and bending at the knees and ending up in a crawl position. This second method takes about half an hour, though, as he keeps changing his mind.
Last note before I sign off to tend the little guy (who is burbling in his cot). He's getting not one, but two(!) lower front teeth. He is about to learn that biting is NOT GOOD.
And while that was quite nice, it also means that I am very far behind with Monkey updates, because such a lot has been happening!
This will give you a fairly good idea of where we're at right now:
Yup, the Monkey has achieved verticality! And yup, he is extraordinarily happy in this state. He is also crawling about, traditional style - hands and knees. I can't remember exactly the moment it began - but the progression was funny to watch: he started off rocking on all fours in place. Then lifting up a leg for long periods of time, like a dog with a bladder problem. Then managing to move his arms and legs with the result that he travelled slowly backwards. Finally, after a few tantalising steps, the process clicked and he was off. The whole thing probably took him about 5 days to work out, at the end of which he was able to crawl while obviously focusing very hard on each limb as he moved it, and was still inclined to drop into his commando creep if he wanted to get anywhere fast. Over the last few days though, he's started to find his rhythm and occasionally even moves two limbs at once!
About a week and a half ago, he performed his first unassisted pull-to-stand on a chair, and now can happily pull himself on virtually anything. This makes him ecstatic and the cats nervous, as they're no longer safe on their sofa perches. We've also had to take our baby-proofing to the next level. He's just able to get his fingers over the top of the dining table, which means that anything sticking over the edge is fair game as far as he's concerned.
'Cruising' is the sport du jour - and it's been very interesting watching him getting his sense of balance. He can now make it between the sofa and his play pen, which involves switching his grip, stepping, and transferring his weight. Easy for us, but quite a concept for the Monkey! Unfortunately, this manoeuver brings him right up close to the stereo controls. Hello Volume Knob!! He's also worked out how to get down from his standing position, which is probably the latest development. Initially the only way down was by imitating a felled tree (if felled trees screeched and wailed for a good 15 minutes). But now he has a couple of methods. One I call the 'bottom bump', and the other is a very careful method of leaning forward and bending at the knees and ending up in a crawl position. This second method takes about half an hour, though, as he keeps changing his mind.
Last note before I sign off to tend the little guy (who is burbling in his cot). He's getting not one, but two(!) lower front teeth. He is about to learn that biting is NOT GOOD.
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