a calm before the storm

Recently, over the past two-three weeks, there has been a respite in the torrential demands of a small newborn.  In part due to the fact that sometime between birth and the present my newborn turned into a toddler.  What the?  When did this happen?

At the one year three month mark (15 Months) something just clicked and speck just fell into her own rythmn - sleep wise.  She has always been a fantastic sleeper but lately it's been even easier than her usual self.  During the day when she's tired she will toddle off towards her own room, climb up onto the twin bed in there to cuddle with me for a few mintues, and even point to her crib indicating that she would like me to place her in there to take her nap.  At night, after we say our prayers, she would roll over, away from me, signaling snuggle time is over and its time for me to put her in her crib, Awake and she'll fall asleep on her own - what?

I know that babies are ever changing creatures and this may or may not last but I will surely enjoy it while it does!  Who knows what the next change will bring?

It's funny though, now that she's sleeping, so well, instead of taking a nap myself or going to bed earlier I find myself flipping through my photo album nostalgic for the days when all it took to make speck happy would just be a warm bottle of bm and to be held!  Nowadays, when she's awake, she doesn't even know what she wants half the time!

From day 100 through 6 months it was a quick succession of pretty much the same things.  Eat, play, sleep, repeat.  Occassionally she would want to eat and sleep at the same time.  There was even a time when she was so hungry she needed to eat and she needed to eat RIGHT NOW!  resulting in naked eating!

(So hungry she didn't even let me dress her after her bath...look at that face!  Its as if she's high from bm!  I'm flattered but much rather have dressed you...)

Or the ever favorite STOP THE CAR!!  Must eat now!

But after these urgent feeds it's BACK to sleep!

At around 3-4 months however, she hit a sleep regression and napping became difficult.  My mom suggested putting her on her tummy to sleep and napping became a breeze again!!

And then she figured out how to roll over on her own!  So she'd sleep on her tummy or on her back depending on whatever mood strikes her.

(nap time with daddy at Grandma's house!)

She slept so well that even when we were on the go she would just pass out in her front pack carrier whenever she was tired and then wake up and observe when she napped enough.  

So we took her to the botanical gardens, 

  
The science center,


visiting friends at their work place,
 

and we even took her for her first swim lessons!

Costume parties and a birthday party

or two

Then at 6 months the pediatrician said it was time to start solids!  She suggested baby-led weaning which is a method growing in popularity amongst the hip young moms of the westside.  No baby oatmeal or baby rice cereal (which is loaded with arsenic anyways) necessary since they're really just fortified empty calories.  So we gave it a try....and she chocked and gagged right away!!  So traditional purees it is!  

Easy-peasy enough...

And of course we started right off with vegetables so that she would grow up with a taste for veggies and all things healthy.  Everyone's already predisposed to liking sweets already so this was the logical choice of course!  Now, 1 year later, turns out she's still one of the pickiest eaters around.  So first time mommys out there please don't stress about what baby's first food should be!  They'll turn into whatever kind of eater they're meant to be and it all really doesn't matter!

The months flew by she grew more and more aware of herself and her surroundings (naturally).

(Check out those chubby thighs!!)

And with her increased awareness it became increasingly more difficult to get her to nap on the go! We still visited friends at work but, she no longer slept and was MUCH more interested checking out the world around her:

 (visiting friends at their google santa monica office!  look at those TIRED exhausted eyes!!)

The doctor also said that Speck's gross motor skills were ever so slightly delayed...  

But I didn't mind!  It made my job SO much easier!  

But right before our first trip abroad she started to sit up on her own.  Prior to this we would also be able to sit if pulled up into a sitting position.  She was tickled by her new found skills.

 

And of course in the throws of being increasingly more curious of the world around her we take her on a trip to the other side of the globe!

She slept for the first hour (or two)

And was up for the duration of the 12 hour flight!!  By the time we landed we were all SO exhausted!

And of course Speck passed out before we even collected our luggage!

And the next morning we were up at 4am!

Resulting in passing out again by 6am!!

But of course we weren't going to hole up in the hotel room all day so we did a lot of sightseeing while daddy was busy working!!  (poor daddy!)

(the bund)

(afternoon tea at the Hyatt Grand Hotel)

(The tallest building in Shanghai - overlooking the second tallest building!)

But it wasn't all work for daddy and a nice co-worker/colleague took us around to eat and shop!

(super famous shanghai dumpling house)

Half-way through the trip SOMEONE learned how to both pull themselves up to sitting as well as standing!!

(Hey mom!  Nice try but I see you!)

Subsequently leaving her a bit more exhausted than usual so we did spend a lot more time in the hotel

reading/playing

and eating

And when we were ready to fly home little miss was so exhausted that she slept the entire flight home!

A week after returning home, after getting over her jetlag and re-acclamating to sleeping on her own, GUESS WHO started crawling?

Stay tuned for more speckventures!

*edit:  as if to make me eat my words speck woke up tonight and cried a wailing heart wrenching cry that I haven't heard in ages!!  Ultimately I ignore the first cry bwtn 1134 - 1143...but then she whimpered again at 1233 and turned into full on sobbing and wailing by 1235 so I went in to comfort her and (I think) she was either too hot or too hungry (both of which could be pretty valid (it's like 80 degrees in he middle of February!!  And she hadn't been eating much lately).  Anyways, I brought her out for a tall cup of cold milk.  She sat while I scrubbed out her cup and we went back to bed.  Prayed and cuddled for a bit and I put her back into her crib at 1255.  Ten minutes later she is still quiet!  Let's hope she's down for the count till tomorrow am!  Till next time folks!!

**edit two:  nope she's back up at 108 am.  Full on sobbing for less than a minute.  Hopefully that's it...but I feel like it's going to be a rough night for me!  I'm not going in again till the morning but each time she's up...I'm up.  And long after she's asleep im still up second guessing my every decision till I pass out in exhaustion.

***edit three:  before I even finish my second update she's back up at 110 and  is currently still crying.  At this point I'm just praying she doesn't work herself up so much that she vomits😱. I hear that they do that on occasion....😑