Bug = 2 years 4 months
Bub = 6 months 12 days
And on a lighter note… I was making breakfast this morning, then realised that Linus had been gone AND quiet for a few minutes – a lethal combination, as any parent knows!
As I headed out into the hallway to find him, he was coming towards me, and he said “Thank you for waiting!“.
Who knows what goes on in that pretty little head of his?
(That’s not rhetorical. If you know, PLEASE tell us!)
Bug = 2 years 4 months
Bub = 6 months 11 days
We had some trauma tonight. I was in the kitchen, and I heard a thump then a cry from Ada. I turned around and saw Ada’s hammock – with her in it – on the floor, and Linus standing beside it. I’m pretty sure I haven’t moved that fast all year!
The beauty of the hammock the way we have it set up is that it’s very secure even with a toddler around. It can’t be tipped like some bassinets could be; until recently Linus was too short to put things in it; and because the hammock’s in a wide archway (not a standard doorway) it’s impossible for it (and Ada’s head) to be banged against a wall no matter how vigorously the toddler “plays” with it.
It hangs from a very secure hook that’s screwed deeply into the archway. And there’s the problem. The hammock can be toddler-swung until kingdom come, and no harm done. But when said toddler twists the hammock counter-clockwise, the screw unwinds and… well, tonight’s events unfold!
Ada cried, of course, but then she fed well and was alert, then went back to sleep. She’s been her usual self so far tonight, with happy wakeful periods and some sleep. The fall was about 1m onto carpet over floorboards, and would have been cushioned by the thin pillow that serves as a mattress in a hammock. I called Plunketline to find out if there’s anything I should look out for, and they mentioned things like non-reactive pupils, leaking fluid or blood from ears or nose, and bumps or bruising or other visible marks on the head. I’m not too worried, but I will be extra observant of her, and with that in mind I think I’ll give the cot a miss tonight and keep her in the bed with me.
We knew that the screw did this… we’d noticed it in the past, but it had only happened once or twice and had never gone so far that it had come out. Linus doesn’t play with it that often, and is usually supervised, so we thought the chances of it actually happening were slim. Slim or not, it happened.
Bug = 2 years 4 months
Bub = 6 months 9 days
Ada still naps in her hammock in the living area, but she’s getting close to outgrowing it, so soon we’re going to have to get her used to napping in her cot.
Yesterday I took the first step by rearranging our bedroom. The cot is still there, but it’s no longer beside the bed. I’ve done this so that we reach easier into the cot at nap times. (It was very awkward to reach into when one side was against the wall and the other against the bed!) The added bonus is that it will be a far less gymnastic effort needed for me to get out of bed.
The down sides are that I’ll now have to get out of bed at night when Ada wakes, and I no longer have the guardrail (i.e. cot side) up against the bed to prevent falls. I’ve put a low coffee table on my side of the bed, and I’ll have a pillow on this at bedtimes, just in case Ada falls out when she’s sleeping with me.
Last night worked pretty well. I took a while to get to sleep – I was a bit on edge with the new sleeping arrangements (or maybe it was that coffee I had right before bed?!). Ada, on the other hand, went to sleep in her cot with no worries at all.
She woke after about an hour, and so I decided to leave her in her cot and feed her. It wasn’t exactly comfortable for me leaning over the cot to feed her… but I figured that once I’d got her out of the cot to feed, it would be hard to convince her to get back in. I wanted to have a little time sleeping on my own before bringing her into bed with me.
She awoke again a couple of hours later and came in with me, which was fine. ONE day I’m sure she’ll sleep all night in her cot, but we’ve gotten pretty used to sleeping together for the major part of most nights now.
Bug = 2 years 4 months
Bub = 6 months 9 days
It was bound to happen, and I count myself lucky that it’s taken this long. Linus has worked out how to drag a chair over to where he wants to reach high objects. He has used this once to get into our bedroom; he has used it a couple of times to get to the back door handle; he uses a small chair to help him get up onto our bar stools; and he loves to bring a dining chair over to the bench and move cutlery and crockery around beside me while I’m doing the dishes.
I’m not going to discourage this. I’m not thrilled, but I have to accept it and work out whether there are likely to be any associated dangers. He can’t get out the front door, but he could conceivably get out the back door (and the back gate!). He can open the microwave and fill it with all our spreads. He can get into any room in the house. Hopefully he can’t yet get up into the ceiling!
I guess the number of hazards we can protect Linus from by restricting his physical access has peaked, and we’re now going to have to rely more and more on rules, discipline, and trust.
And another new skill… after months and months of trying, he can now open the fridge. (Picture me groaning with my head in my hands!)
Linus’s friend LS visited the other day. He’s Linus’s age, so I sent them into the backyard to play “safely”. Unfortunately LS proved that our property is Linus-proof, but not LS-proof… LS’s mummy looked out the window at one point to see LS in the front garden… we think he climbed over the back gate.
Bug = 2 years 4 months
Bub = 6 months 4 days
Ada’s ability to sit has really come on strong in the past few days. A couple of times she has sat for 10 or 20 seconds at a time, balancing herself. She still needs constant supervision (to avoid her smashing her face on the floor), but it’s progress.
She’s still not rolling very often, except when her brother helps her (which he loves to do!). However she does try out lots of strong moves when she’s on her tummy (where she can spend long periods now). She’s also a fiend at arching her back at the wrong moments, like when you’re trying to get her into or out of her hammock or car seat.
A friend (JR) with a baby (ER) a little younger than Ada lamented the other day that her baby didn’t babble cutely like Ada, but only squealed and squawked.
Apparently Ada overheard, misinterpreted it as a complaint about her speech, and has since adjusted it accordingly. Apart from the occasional babble – during which she says her own name a lot (“Ah-dah”) – she now squeaks and squawks like a champ. It’s pretty piercing when you’re holding her right next to you.
For the last week or two, Linus seems to have almost completely gotten over his hitting phase. He’s lovely and gentle now, and I don’t think he’s hit anyone at all (apart from the occasional half-hearted kick at the cats, but that’s more to get them to move where he wants them than to hurt them).
We’re very relieved, and we’re enjoying Linus a lot more now. I especially appreciate being able to leave Linus and Ada unattended for brief periods to get things done around the house. (For me to get things done, not them. They’re useless at housework!)
I’ve also been making an effort to help Linus deal with how to react when HE’S been hit by another child. I don’t want him hitting back at such children and getting into a fight, nor do I want him to come crying to us with every little tap. I’ve told him to say firmly “I don’t like that” and to move away from the offender, and it seems to be working. Today, in fact, Bob saw him deal with such an assault by saying “Don’t, L___, go and stand by the wall!”. And apparently the offender obeyed!
I’m not sure how we’d teach him to deal with such situations if he weren’t speaking in sentences yet. Perhaps just teach him to say “NO!” and move away?
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