Crocodile Tears

Ivy has visitors pretty regularly. With each visit she seems to hone her skills. The girl is a doll, seriously one adorable toddler, but her social skills top the charts.

She can manipulate any situation she chooses. It started when she was a very small infant. She'd tailor her complaints to the person she was trying to coercer. Around fifteen to eighteen weeks old Ivy had each member of the household figured out. She cry for her dad, cough, as if she were choking, for her mom, laugh for the housekeeper and make tiny little pitiful sounds for me. And it worked! If she switched any of them they'd fail, but she'd keep them straight and they'd work, even after I called her on it and told everyone she was working them.

I'm not complaining nor am I demeaning her, this is a skill and Ivy definitely gauges each situation and chooses her tools. It is amazing how much children learn how early. I'm kind of frightened that once I have my own baby I'll be too inside to rationally evaluate each situation. Here's hoping a dozen years of practice don't fail me!

255th Post!

Pigtails!!

Okay, not real ones, yet. But she does have enough hair for them. Ivy's mommy isn't sure about pigtails so we're breaking her into the idea slowly. This was our second attempt and they went over quite well - even better than the first time we had them! Maybe soon we'll get ponies and do real ones, I can't wait!

Developmental Burst!

Ivy has been trucking along, taking life as it comes. She enjoys the world and everything in it. To be 100% honest there are few things Ivy won't tolerate and those are even negotiable at times.

This said, it isn't hard to imagine her content at whatever developmental stage she's in. For the most part she's very content. She was content to lie on her back. After some encouragement and a lot of opportunity she became content to lie on her stomach. Then being placed in a seated position over and over allowed her opportunities to build strength and balance to be a sitter - a contented sitter. Time, work and practice helped her move from sitter to baby that goes from sitting to lying, contentedly. Then she'd lie there, content. More encouragement, time and practice helped her to put herself smoothly into a seated position.

Through each stage and step my only concern was her interest. How long would she be content at each stage? Would she ever want to progress to the next thing? Should I encourage her more or just keep offering guidance and opportunity? Knowing she was well within the realm of normal I opted for the latter. I also surrounded her with examples. We've sought out playmates with more gross-motor  skills than Ivy possessed.

Recently she expressed interest in pulling onto her knees.

This meant I'd keep interesting things at that higher level. I also continued putting her onto her feet at elevated surfaces - keeping interesting things up there. But our Ivy was content to only get onto her knees.

Until she spent one morning with a peer who was obsessed with going up the step.

The following weekend, after what I'd assume was half a week of contemplation, she began efforts to conquer the step. It took some work, but now she's a pro - and we need more baby gates!

The influx of kneeling play and step-climbing seemed like a great place to plateau. I was surprised that the two together only lasted about a week and she's moved onto full pulling up!

She stands at everything! Coffee tables, chairs, toys, wobbly tables, you name it - Ivy will stand at it! She  can be sensitive if she feels shaky or insecure at an object, but generally she does pretty well. Last week we'd mastered plopping down without concern, remember I was putting her into a stand? Well I'd wait for her to get down knowing she was able, safe and needed to learn the skill. But with some external encouragement [not naming names!] she now believes she needs help each and every time!

What is most exciting about this burst of development is the motivation aspect. She's intrinsically motivated to keep going. She's considering cruising already. She'll just try it and she wants to be up and moving. It's truly wonderful to watch and be a part of!

Long time no post.

Posting has been tough lately as things have gotten so busy. Tomorrow I enter the third trimester of my pregnancy and we're preparing to move within the next four weeks.

Ivy is crawling, hands and knees style. It's adorable. She pushes into a sit and talks like mad. My favorite is her "woof." When asked what a doggie says she always responds with "woof." Adorable.

She's been sick forever. Pedi seems to think it was one cold after another. This last week it developed into a double e@r infect.on  that is being treated with her first round of ant.biotics. Pretty crazy but hopefully she's feeling better soon.

Mother's Day

G-Ma 1

G-Ma 2

Mommy

Hard at Play.

Another Sleep Post.

Hmmm, sleep. It always comes up and it's continuously a struggle. I'm not sure why it's such a hard thing to do, consistency is all that it takes and that seems to be the toughest part for each parent I've worked for.

It's funny that I'm trying to relax and not urge my views as much as usual, but it's frustrating too because Ivy is sick all. the. time. Over the twelve years I've nannied I've had quite the spam of families, parenting styles and children. There are universals but there are a lot of varieties. The majority of my kiddos have been pretty healthy though, three to five colds per year. I know the average is 11-13 but I always assume that takes into account daycare and it's a accepted fact that kids in daycare get more colds.

And I've tried imagining what 11-13 colds per year would look like. That is at least one cold per month. That means a week of incubation, a week of actively sick, a week of getting over it then a week off. Every month. And try as I might, I just couldn't imagine how it would look. But now I can. I see it clearly because this cycle has been my world for the last three to four months. Ivy keeps getting sick.

Unfortunately it is so much more than most of the kids I've cared for, but her daily sleep intake is less. I think these two things are directly related. Kids in daycare also sleep less, there's just less time for sleep, does this contribute? It definitely could.

Ivy sleeps from around 9pm until about 6am each night. That is nine hours. During the day she prefers less than three total, bringing her up to a big ol twelve hours of sleep per day - and she's ten months old! I know this is average and far from uncommon, but previously my charges were sleeping twelve full hours at night plus two to four hours during the day. Giving them almost sixteen hours of sleep each day - and only three to five colds per year!

When Ivy is sick, she sleeps even less. She doesn't nap at all for her parents on the weekends and is up a lot of the nights. I'd say this past weekend, over a sixty hour period, she slept 21.5 hours when I would have hoped she'd get at least 38 though the last kiddies would have done forty five.

I know that our society doesn't value sleep. That too much sleep is bad. That people fully believe kids sleep as much as they can. But I've also seen what consistency does. I've seen how during the week she can take a short nap and then an almost four hour nap. That on nights I've been doing the overnight she sleeps all night even if she's not 100%. And anything before 6am just isn't morning!

There isn't a quick solution here. There is a family figuring it out and a nanny offering support. And there is a little girl who is sicker every weekend than she is during the week.

Ivy's Independence a.k.a. photo post!

Both of Ivy's parents have asked me if I think that she is too independent. 

And it seems odd to me that they would even worry.

I find Ivy to be very curious about her world and agreeable.

She is determined and engaged.

She is also generally easy-going and tolerant. 

She'll try new things and fully enjoy them.

In addition to doing things she already knows in new places.

She can entertain herself but never refuses being engaged by an adult or child that she loves.

I love that new textures intrigue her.

Even the ones she later realizes are a bit too intense.

I think that she is willing to try so many new things because she feels safe and loved and taken care of. She enjoys snuggling and kisses and love more than a lot of the kiddies I've cared for. And when she finds a soft toy that she loves, 

she loves it - 

100%!

Foods.

Ivy is nearly ten months old. She isn't a fan of being spoon fed and I've made most of her food. She has an outstanding diet though and really enjoys eating. Here is a [nearly complete] list of what she eats.

Proteins	Veggies	Fruits	Grains	Fats
Lentils Chick Peas Split Peas Chicken Kidney Beans Black Beans Gifilta Fish Chopped Liver Eggs	Zucchini Green Beans Peas Corn Sweet Potatoes Squash Carrots Potatoes Lima Beans Celery Green Pepper Brussels Sprouts	Peach Plum Apple Prune Banana Pear Nectarine Grapes Apricot	Oatmeal Barley Spelt Rice Pasta Plain Waffles Matzo	Avocado Oils
Spices/Flavor	Misc			Dairy
Maple Vanilla Molasses Garlic Onion Cinnamon	Dill Pickles French Fries Plain Waffles Carrot Wagon Wheels Veggie Puffs Cheerios Kix			Milk Cheese Yogurt Cottage Cheese Eggs

Daily Schedule.

Schedules make life predictable. I enjoy taking classes with Ivy and planning fun activities like going to the museums, libraries and parks. But having enough time to do these things and everything else that needs to be done each week takes planning and forethought. Knowing that I will have a well-rested and pleasant baby to take along also makes things run more smoothly.

This is our current schedule;

7:15am                          6 oz formula

8:45am                          breakfast [solids + cup, followed by 4-6 oz formula]

9:30-10:30am                nap #1

12:30pm                        6 oz formula + lunch [solids, offer extra formula post solids]           

1-3:30pm                       nap #2 [let her sleep as long as she wants, just not past 5:30pm]

4:15-30pm                     6 oz milk [w/sippy spout]+ snack [keep it light, or just milk]

7:15-7:30pm                  8 oz formula

8-8:30pm                       bedtime

                             32 oz milk offered per day

                             3.5 hrs nap + 10-10.5 hrs overnite = 14 hrs sleep offered daily

Ivy doesn't always love the cup. We try to offer it but she isn't very efficient at drinking from the sippy spout. Our current compromise is to use the cup with a bottle nipple. We still work on using the sippy spout but flexibility is important. Another side of flexibility is our ever evolving schedule. We have been using this current schedule since the second week of March. As Ivy moves closer to one year old I'm sure it will change. Right now it works.

Every day we have two open periods for activities [10:45-12:15 & 4ish - 6:15], this gives us ten each week. We generally grocery shop once and misc shop one time. We take two classes, a peer aged class and a music class. The other times are all open for whatever activities we choose. The library is generally in there and getting outside is always a priority. We do take time to stay home and relax or schedule playdates.

We make a point to eat breakfast at home each morning and an effort to eat lunch at home. We may have the bottle portion of lunch out once in every two week period. We're always at home, in the crib for naps and bedtime. Our afternoon bottle, around 4pm, is considered a snack and we eat it outside of the house more often than inside. And we take a bath four days out of five just before mommy and daddy get home.

Personally I believe Ivy could use a little more sleep. The ten hours overnight aren't quite enough and often she wakes around 6am giving her only 9hrs overnight. But this schedule works for she and her parents so it is what we do. She's growing and eating and progressing so there's no real reason it should change. The extra sleep thing is just my intuition. She's always growing and gaining more stamina so unless we have an issue we'll continue like this.

Special Museum Visit

Our museum visit was OUTSTANDING!!!

Ivy loved it! She looked at everything, pointed and couldn't get enough! What a treat to be able to hang out with her! I can't wait until we go again!

April 1, 2010 - 1st word!

This morning Ivy said her first word, "duck." And best of all she said it for her mommy! Seriously, I'm so glad that it was her and not me. It means so much to her and I'm excited, but I know it's different.

Yesterday she was practicing so we spent a lot of time playing with rubber duckies. Even listening to Ernie love his. And she kept encouraging me to say "duck" over and over again, then she'd say "duh." She was really practicing and thinking about it. It's too adorable that now she's said it.

We're also planning another first, a special museum visit. Last week we visited a very old school museum in Boston, old school meaning no touching [anything!], no photos, very little light in places, etc. It was our first time in a place like this and with Ivy being such a babbler I wasn't sure how we'd do. Know what happened? She loved it! Spent the entire time wide eyed and open mouthed. She was in complete awe. It was beautiful. We had such an amazing time. Here's hoping the next is just as good!

Long time no see.

It's been fourteen weeks since my last post. Wow, fourteen weeks doesn't sound like too, too long but so much has changed. Ivy is an accomplished sitter, roller, a great eater, and on occasion is even known to do a slow-motion commando crawl! She chatters up a storm, has signed "more," "all done" and "up," and today she was singing along with Johnny Cash! Cry-Cry! Adorable!

Other developments, hmmm, Ivy loves kisses and songs and music class. We also take another class that she enjoys very much. Very soon we'll start some more, but I'm really looking forward to her becoming more mobile so that we can try even more new things!

For now, a photo comparison. 

Fourteen weeks ago Ivy started solids, and earlier this week a photo of her feeding herself.