miscellaneous updates

Sebastian has discovered some new sounds: squeaks and squeals, at an incredibly high pitch and often painfully loud volume. He conveys both happiness and displeasure with pretty much the same squeal. We far preferred the vowelly coos and oohs. Still no consonants. :)

He's been changing in other ways too - he used to love the mobile that hangs over his crib, cooing and smiling at it for 20 minutes at a time. It was terrific when we wanted to make dinner or eat a meal together. Sadly, it no longer seems to do the trick. After a mere 2 minutes, he starts to loudly vocalize his boredom (see above). We're still casting around for the next thing that can hold his attention for 15 minutes without our active participation.

He's getting better and better at hand-eye coordination, which of course means that he's started grabbing all sorts of things. My hair is a particular favorite, but tshirts are a close second. He's pretty strong, too, so when he grabs part of your skin under the shirt it can really hurt. His neck is very strong and his head increasingly stable, so we've been working a lot on sitting. He likes to sit up with my assistance, but after a brief honeymoon period he has rejected the BebePod chair that cousin Danica so loved. Perhaps he'll like it better in another week or so - I've put it away in the meantime as it triggered violent twisting fits (and screeches, of course).

I wish I could report that he's becoming a better sleeper as well, but no. It's very strange, as both Steve and I are extremely sound, good sleepers - we so hoped that that was genetically inheritable. Sebastian never seems to last all that long before startling himself awake, and then he requires help to get back to sleep. So our nights are interrupted every hour or two (or occasionally three) with one of us getting up to soothe the baby. I've taken to going to bed at 9 pm every night in an effort to get enough hours of sleep.

Snow!

It finally snowed here - we've had nothing but rain all winter - and so we took Sebastian out to introduce him to the white stuff. He was underwhelmed, sleeping through most of our tromp through the woods. But it was a great day nonetheless. I've posted some pictures.

Daddy's gonna buy you some wooden rings

Daddy's gonna buy you some wooden rings from Brianna Avery on Vimeo.

schedules etc

Sebastian has started to find a schedule for himself - eating and napping at somewhat regular intervals every day. It's made things less stressful for me, since when he starts to cry I have a better idea what he wants. And of course it's easier to take him out places when I know what to expect. He is also mostly staying in his crib between 9 pm and 7 am - he wakes occasionally and needs to be fed or comforted or changed, but he has clearly developed an idea of extended nighttime sleeping.

I've joined a mommy-and-baby group in Hastings, the town just south of us. There are 7 of us, and we meet every week to talk about stuff - our babies range from 7 weeks to 13 weeks, so we're all in the thick of the same things. It's amazing to see how much more alert and interested Sebastian is than those younger babies - it just reminds me that he is changing incredibly quickly, and learning so much.

He loves standing up (obviously with a lot of support). I've been trying to help him work on sitting by propping him up with pillows - he's still very prone to falling forward. When we put him on his tummy he still flails his arms and legs like mad - especially his legs. He really really wants to crawl, he just hasn't figured out the mechanics yet.

We've posted a few February pictures.

fun with plastic

Sebastian is learning how to use his hands! (I guess you could say he's learning that he has hands.) We've discovered that he loves grabbing crinkly plastic bags. We've taken a couple of very short clips, the first of which is below, and the second of which you can see by clicking on the "Sebastian videos" link to the right.


Plastic Bag from Brianna Avery on Vimeo.

playtime with Sebastian

We've posted some new pictures of Sebastian in the January 2008 web album!

new pictures! January 2008

I've posted some new pictures of Sebastian, taken in the last week or two. He's getting a bit more hair on the top of his head, and his eyes seem to grow ever more aware (and hence rounder).

He managed to roll from his stomach over to his back this weekend. The first two times, I totally missed it - looked over at the crib and was astonished that he was suddenly facing up. He wouldn't do it again while I was watching that day. But the next day, while lying on the floor hippo, he did it again, twice. Steve and I applauded - it was great! I later tried to capture it on film, to no avail (the result is five videos, of varying lengths, of him lying on the floor and contentedly sucking his hand).

2 months!

Well, cousin Danica is a whole year old (as of the 9th)! And our little Sebastian is two months today. I look at Carl and Kim's pictures and videos and can't believe that Sebastian will be able to do so much more in such a short time.

My mom and dad returned home to B.C. after Christmas, and Steve's paternity leave came to an end with the new year, so this week it's been just me and baby. We're managing pretty well, although Tuesday was his 2-month checkup, which meant vaccinations. He got four shots into his fat little thighs, and he screamed bloody murder. He was very happy and playful right before getting stuck - was looking at me and smiling - which made me feel as though I'd betrayed him. In happier news, he's 12 lbs 3 oz, and 23 1/2 inches long.

I bought a new wrap sling and am finding it ideal for wearing around the house. It allows me to cuddle with Sebastian when he's fussy, or hold him while he's sleeping, and still have a free hand or two. We already had a ring sling and a Baby Bjorn. Baby doesn't like the sling very much, and I can't blame him - he looks all squished in it, and his face gets mashed. The Bjorn is really good for longer walks outside, but it isn't great for cuddling. So this latest experiment is working out really well.

Britta sent me a couple of music cd's for the baby - one with a mixture of songs and one by Elizabeth Mitchell. She's terrific - a great, happy voice, and very singable songs (even for those of us who are tonally challenged). We just bought a second Mitchell album and are really enjoying it as well. If anyone has other suggestions for good, non-annoying children's music, I welcome them!

We have a mobile over Sebastian's crib with three little animal creatures - a lion, a rabbit, and a monkey. He just loves it - smiles and kicks his legs and watches his friends rotate around. The batteries were starting to run out of juice and so the mobile was moving more and more slowly, so I replaced them yesterday. But now it seems to be moving too quickly for him - he doesn't get to stare for quite as long at any one animal - and he doesn't like it. I wish there was a speed control - since there isn't, I'm thinking about putting the old batteries back in.

Steelers baby

Happy 2008!

Hope everyone had a very happy new year's eve! Since our photographer (aka my dad) has left us, we are not producing quite as many pictures as previously. On the flip side, we bought a new camera for Christmas (I mean, Santa brought us a new camera) and are having fun trying it out. It's much faster and smaller than our old one and will shoot videos that are lengthier and include sound. So I've posted a few new pictures.

We are applying for a passport for Sebastian, and the application is sort of ridiculous. Eye color: gray/to be determined. Height: 23 inches. Passport photo, eyes open, looking straight at the camera: yeah right.