Alice's first year (including gestation) was a blur. It's hard to believe that this time last year, she was little more than a blastocyst -- if even that -- and now we have a living, feeling, usually joyful but always spirited little person on our hands! The past month has brought big changes in little Alice. Alice achieved a major milestone which, alas, I have yet to see: she rolled over, from front to back, on Wednesday 10/22, just shy of her 3 month birthday. She repeated the feat three times -- for Eric and for O'Mama and O'Pa. And then... nothing. Hasn't done it again. It's a bit uncouth, really, to share the moment with everyone but me... she leaves my sight quite rarely still... and yet. Harumph. (But of course, I am very proud.) She's also very very close to rolling back to front. We were sort of expecting that first, truth be told.
Alice has also become very talkative. She coos and gurgles quite a bit, but she also, well, talks. I can't think of how else to put it. Harranging, perhaps. It can be very loud. She discusses the wrongdoings of her nemesis Mr. Brown Owl, and she'll sometimes beckon the ceiling fan to please come closer so she can get a better look. And of course she demands attention from me -- from us -- when we are insufficiently engaged in her cuteness on the playmat. (This said, she's still remarkably more independent and self-entertaining than Lizzie was at this age.)
Somewhat less charming are Alice's new sleep habits. First the backstory: Shortly before Christmas, Eric and I shared some takeout szechuan eggplant, a dish we both love in large part for the numbing szechuan peppercorns that signify the dish. Turns out, those same peppercorns flavored my milk, and Alice didn't like it. At all. She was inconsolable for about 36 hours. Didn't want to eat, then got too hungry, then didn't take much, got hungrier.... in short, a disaster that led to some bad habits like waking several times a night and very poor napping. The peppercorns are long past, but the residual effects linger on. Alice has been waking 2 and 3 times a night (and typically failing to settle back to sleep at least once) for nearly 3 weeks now. BOO! (Before this she'd been sleeping from roughly 6:30pm -2am, then again from 2:15am-7am.) I'll start dream-feeding tonight to see how that goes. Fingers crossed.
Sleeping woes notwithstanding, we're all doing well and looking forward to an exciting 2011. I'll leave you with a little baby-zen. Happy New Year!
