I think if they made baby-sized face cradles like I have on my massage table, he would prefer to sleep face down. When he falls asleep for a nap he tries to do this. After a little while his head pops up with a big gasp. This makes me so nervous. I know we were all put to sleep on our tummies, and we survived just fine. But some babies didn't, which is why the AAP has these new back-to-bed guidelines. I keep telling myself that he's such a strong baby, that would not happen to him. Survival of the fittest, and all that. But it's gut-wrenching to just think about the possibility that I'm wrong.
Acorn sleeps on his tummy. I know, I know...the AAP recommends putting babies under one year old to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of sids. I had a really hard time with this early on. We could only get his to sleep on his back if he was propped in the crook of an arm pit. Well that was ok for naps, but didn't seem very safe for night sleeping. And if you put him on his back in bed he would curl up and scream like he was in horrible pain, which was only relieved hours later by a bowel movement of some sort. So we gave in to suggestions to put him on his tummy, and that's how he's slept ever since.
I think if they made baby-sized face cradles like I have on my massage table, he would prefer to sleep face down. When he falls asleep for a nap he tries to do this. After a little while his head pops up with a big gasp. This makes me so nervous. I know we were all put to sleep on our tummies, and we survived just fine. But some babies didn't, which is why the AAP has these new back-to-bed guidelines. I keep telling myself that he's such a strong baby, that would not happen to him. Survival of the fittest, and all that. But it's gut-wrenching to just think about the possibility that I'm wrong.
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Acorn had his 6 month check-up yesterday. He weighed 20 lbs. 8 oz. Today he got up on his hands and toes. Before today it's just been hands and knees.
If you didn't already know, Acorn and I participate in a study on temperament and emotion regulation. It will last until he's three years old. Today was our second visit, and the first time they observed him. Last time they just asked me lots of questions. Today he got to see bubbles for the first time. We played a really fun game of peek-a-boo. He got to play with lots of toys. Mostly they give and take away toys, and observe his reaction. One the of researches made a comment to him that she keeps giving him things and then taking them away. I told him, "Get used to it; that's women." I also read him a book called Big Red Barn. I'm going to have to add it to his wish list. The researcher said she had heard that book read many times, but never as nicely as I did. I have to thank my mom and grandma for teaching me how to read a book the right way. I could tell he was getting so tired, but he really plugged right along. They said he is such a happy baby. They would know; they're experts.
Right now I'm reading the book You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy, so I'll probably be making a lot of references to it for awhile. (For future reference, I'll probably refer to it as "First Teacher.") Here's the excerpt that has inspired today's post:
"Development from a parent's point of view seems to go in phases where first everything is all right, then it's fairly difficult, than all is well again...each developmental step being preceded by a return to the matrix (structure, safety, mother)...as preparation for the next surge forward toward independence." (97) Well, if you couldn't tell from the last post, we're on the verge of another surge. The last few days have been really difficult with Acorn demanding all my time and energy. But this passage helped put it in a positive light. He's going to be crawling any day now! And I still haven't baby-proofed the house... Two nights ago I was in the bathroom and Mike says excitedly, "Uh, mom, you better come see this," or something along those lines. Acorn was up on all fours rocking back and forth. I only caught the very end of it. But I got to see it the next day. He's going to take off any day now.
We went to the breastfeeding support group at the hospital today. It was so much fun to finally see Acorn interacting with other kids. I think he's smitten. ;) Looking back over the past 5 1/2 months, I'm recalling that Acorn gets fussy just before every growth spurt. Maybe this is our problem. I recently read that breastfed babies usually slow down in growth between four and six months, and go through another spurt at six months. We're approaching six months.
In the beginning we thought his tummy trouble might be due to my dairy intake, as this is fairly common. But the nurse said most babies grow out of this in three to four months. and since I eat so much dairy I might starve. But lately I've been thinking I might give it a go. They say to eliminate something from your diet for two weeks, and slowly reintroduce it to determine if that was the problem or not. I'll have to consult Stacey on some dairy-free snacks. Today might be a repeat of yesterday...but maybe not. Acorn is going for his first piggy back ride in the mei tai-style kozy carrier. Thanks Heather!
Gah! My hair is now a handle!! Finally got Acorn to nap after 5 hours of yawning, fussing, screaming. Belly hard as a rock. Tried all the tricks in the book, but sometimes getting worn out and sleeping it off is the only thing that will work. We went to the Crunchy Moms group this morning. He seemed to enjoy squirming around on the blanket in the park. Mike got his movement mirror hung yesterday so I got mine back. I'll have to post pictures later. Going to try to recharge a little bit before he wakes up again.
This is Acorn's favorite book. The whole story is one sentence long with 2 - 4 words for every two pages. Each page has a picture of a baby from a different country in traditional dress. The exception is the U.S.A. They have one in what we see most American babies in now, and one in a traditional Native American baby carrier. He loves to look at the babies. I love to see him get excited and laugh at the babies. Thanks Grandma Pam! |
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A Montessori Home Ali's Art Adventures At Home with Montessori Feeding the Soil How We Montessori Janet Lansbury Jo Cessna Jordan Bagwill Eusebio Montessori ici Multilingual Living Nature Moms Our Best Bites Simply Natural Mom Three Chord Me Under the Sycamore Vibrant Wanderings |