Tempted into starting a post by listening to the WXPN feed and hearing that 76 is blocked up from University ave to the Conshohocken curve, and remembering sitting in that traffic...
Last week was a bit of a killer on the work front, and I'm barely recovered despite H sending me to bed early three nights in a row, and taking a nap both Saturday and Sunday afternoons while Pob was sleeping. She's only just given up her morning nap, and consequently is definitely ready for a long sleep after lunch.
She turned 18 months on Friday, and we can see the huge change in her approach to the world as she becomes more and more her own person. No longer can we get her to do little tasks for us - she just grins and says 'No' and runs the other way. These used to be things like taking junk mail to the recycling bin, or fetching her slippers so we could help her put them on, or returning a book to the shelves and fetching a new one. Oh well, it had to come. The one task she will still do is taking a plate to the dishwasher, as she loves exploring what's in there. She also enjoys 'helping' unpack it, and gets very cross if we get too far ahead of her in the process.
Her language has also taken another leap. Lots more words, but more that she is now putting them together to tell us something more interesting. For example, "baby sleep" (pointing to a picture in a book)," "more apple/cheese/peas," when eating, and even a little story when I went in to see her because she wasn't settling on Friday night. I had been stuck on a conference call for all of bedtime, but when I finished she was loudly complaining (not crying, just exclaiming) about being in her cot. So I went in, and she immediately stood up and demanded a cuddle. I gave in, and as we sat down together in the rocking chair, she explained to me, "Daddy night-night [sound of kiss being blown]." "Did Daddy say good night and blow you a kiss?" I asked, "Yes," I was told. I don't think these really classify as sentences yet, but it makes a big difference in us understanding what she really means. This doesn't stop her from getting very cross, whiny and tantrum-y if we don't understand what she wants or won't give it to her, but I'm hoping that as it progresses, it will get easier for us all as we communicate more effectively together.
I've heard from many people about toddlers being picky about food, but Pob is pretty much the opposite. Yes there are a couple of things she's not keen on - potato in particular, and non-strongly flavoured pasta sauces, and too-strong cheese, but apart from that she wants to eat whatever anyone else is eating, and won't stop until she gets it. At the park yesterday this was amusing but slightly embarassing as she walked up to any child with a snack and tried to take it from them. Or just stare at them until they handed it over. This ploy didn't work with a little French boy who shouted loudly at Pob when she tried to come near his banana, so she retreated to a safe distance and kept looking at him while he ate the whole thing, all the while repeating over and over to herself,and partly to him I imagine, "nana, nana, nana". Not sure what we should do about this, if anything? I'm glad she's so open to food and enjoys a wide range of tastes, but the demanding she shares anything she sees someone else eating seems a bit much.
We tried her on egg over the weekend. She's now had half of one of my oatmeal-berry-yogurt muffins on two occasions, with no ill-effects. It's not much egg - one per 12 muffins - but it's a start. We'll keep on building her up until hopefully she can eat simply cooked eggs in a few weeks time. I hope.
She is physically fearless. We took her to a trial class at an organisation called 'little gym' on Saturday, and she threw herself into everything - large bouncy-castle type gym mat, parallel bars, the balance barre (which had hand bars either side so they could walk along safely). I thought this would tire her out but she then ran around the shopping centre where it was held for a good hour afterwards. Oh to have the energy of a toddler.
She has decided that hats are a great thing. Having thrown a fit every time my mother and I tried to get her to wear one in Florida, she is now an addict and every trip this weekend required her to be wearing her white sunhat. And preferably her wellington boots as well, which combined to make a slightly eclectic look on Saturday. Then she needed to wear her pink woolly hat when we got home, and all through supper. I didn't know a stong sense of style started so early.
Pob is going through a real 'Mummy' phase. I felt bad for H when he went in on Saturday morning to get her up and
her first response was "NOOO! Mummy!" Not sure there is much we can do
about it, and I'm sure it will reverse at some point. This worries me at bit given I'm gone for a whole week from Sunday. It's the longest I've left her, and I'm not at all excited about it. Perhaps when I'm not there she'll accept Daddy as a substitute more easily.
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Junior (Sib didn't stick so we are back to the unoriginal) seems to be doing well. I had a scan on Wednesday to check placental blood flow to see if I can come off clexane, and all looked good. Great blood flow and a baby with a big head and short legs, just like Pob, poor thing. He is moving around a lot, particularly after I eat something, but so far I am not very uncomfortable, even in bed at night, which is a relief. We'll see how long it lasts.
24w5d
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