Another “it’s about time!”

I mentioned before in recent photos that Skyler’s new favorite thing is to push-up and look around on hands and knees. While she’s still not crawling yet, she made another “big step” for progress today. She finally put some weight on her legs and let us “walk” her around while holding her up! Her knees were so wobbly and she has zero concept of balance, but she has never before put both feet down and pushed on them or took pretend steps. But tonight she really seemed to enjoy it! Ronnie and I “walked” (should I say wobbled?) her back and forth between us, and as soon as she’d get to me, she’d grab me and try to climb up my body.

And, I’ve been setting her up on her knees so that she’s kneeling next to me and then placing toys on the other side of my legs, forcing her to lunge forward from her knees and crawl her way over me. It’s basically an army crawl at this point, but she can make her way over, even if it’s not the most graceful thing! I think she’s finally getting the hint in her mind that her body parts are for more than flailing about while laying on her back. She’s a very strong girl, but she is only just now figuring out what to do with her strength.

It’s relieving for me, as I’ve really thought she might just roll around the rest of her life, because there has been ZERO interest in using her feet for anything other than chew toys. Her doctor wasn’t too concerned at her last appointment, saying it’s just another way that she’s behind as a result of her surgery, but did mention possible physical therapy in a few months if she still showed no interest in mobility, but hopefully she’s on the right track now!

On a side note, I did get the highchair together. After a little break and some mental cooling off (it was still 82 degrees by 8 o’clock last night), I attempted the installation of the backrest that was causing me so much frustration, and it clicked right in! It was smooth sailing from there, and the highchair got used at dinner for the first time tonight. Skyler seemed pleased with the chair, even if she isn’t so thrilled about learning to feed herself! But that’s a whole other challenge these days. Our girl loves to eat most anything, but refuses to put it in her mouth herself. She only wants me to do it! Hopefully with the highchair she will have more “play” opportunities to experiment with edible items that I place on the tray in front of her. But I have a feeling this one is going to require a lot of patience for both of us…

Oh no, not again!

Skyler has recently been less interested in her bottle again. It is a chore to get 20 ounces down her in a day, and I just read that babies her age should be getting 28 – 35 ounces per day! The last couple days, she may have gotten fifteen ounces each day. Meanwhile, she still loves nearly any other pureed baby food I put in her mouth, as long as it is very smooth and non-lumpy. Hence, Third Foods are out of the question because if soft rice and mini-noodle balls don’t immediately get ejected by way of tongue-thrust, she will gag on them instead. So far, foods with any texture are not her thing!

This not eating the bottle thing is concerning to me, because it is a possible symptom of another heart problem, though it is not accompanied by sweating, which was the previous case for her. She still seems super happy these days, and when she doesn’t eat, it usually seems she just wants to play with the nearest object in her reach instead of focus on the bottle. So maybe, it’s not an issue at all and just a part of growing up and finding other things of interest than just eating, sleeping, and pooping! I will put in a call to her doctor just to make sure.

Other recent developments:
- She loves to drink water out of a cup, grown-up style. She has no interest in a sippy spout. This is not looking good for developing her independent feeding skills without spilling water everywhere!
- She loves to bite noses. When she’s feeling silly, I can put my face close to hers, she’ll grab my ears with both hands, open her mouth wide, and pull my nose into it, gumming it as hard as she can. She even growls sometimes! We think it’s her way of kissing…which will have to change sooner of later when she gets teeth or tries biting other people!
- As mentioned above, still no teeth!
- She’s working on her consonant sounds, and has the cutest babble I’ve ever heard. The best is when she has her hand in her mouth and tries to talk. It’s all muffled and gurgly sounding.
- She can sit without falling forward, but will still fall backward if not supported. We learned the hard way on the floor the other day. Ouch!
- No signs of normal mobility – she prefers to roll around on the floor, and will twist and inchworm her way for whatever she wants. She seems perfectly fine with that method, versus learning to crawl or walk.