Physical development
Jan. 6th, 2020 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
halojedha- Our colds are on the way out. E's symptoms are the last to go, as they were poorliest of the three of us. Poor inexperienced immune system. Oof, that was miserable! It's been an exercise in hanging in there. Technically there were two days of Leo's work time and my childcare time, but they didn't get much work done. We pulled together and got through it.
- Just before we got ill I had the best Tai Chi session. We were working on the Shaolin Rou Quan "soft fist" form which involves a lot of ma bu (horse stance). I sweated and worked hard. It felt great and it loosened the hell out of my hamstrings. At the end of the session in our cool down stretches I was more flexible than I've ever been before. For the first time I could touch my toes in seated forward fold. And seated with legs apart, I could touch each toe with the fingers on the opposite hand, also for the first time. Woo! Of course, then we got sick and I missed a class, so I wasn't that flexible when I went tonight. But it's good to know it's possible!
- Speaking of Tai Chi, I've discovered the most delightful thing. When I'm practising fan form E loves watching. The sudden loud snap and flash of colour as the fan opens makes them jump, and then they giggle. This gorgeous musical chuckle. Every time I do it! So the form is just wall to wall baby giggling. It's the most adorable, hilarious, joyful thing ever, and if I didn't already love the fan form, I would practice it just for that. :hearteyes:
- E's independent sitting is coming along really well! I've been spending a lot of time sitting with them on the play mats with my legs casually on either side, to break their fall if they topple over, and a cushion at the feet end. But a few times I've got up to fetch something or whatever and they've stayed sitting up quite happily, busy with whatever toy they're holding.
- They're spending a lot of voluntary time on their front too. They love throwing themself forward (works better on bed than on floor) and patting toys that are in front of them. The jingly ball is good for this as when it rolls away they do lots of thrashing of limbs trying to Do A Locomote. Crawling is not happening yet but they're giving it a damn good try.
- We've had a couple of rolls too, mostly assisted by gravity, eg from lying on a pillow on back to on the bed on front. But they've done the back to front roll on the changing mat a couple of times too. They are, in general, Very Wriggly.
- Oh yes, that was the other thing I was going to mention: I did a successful forward facing front carry today! This is very satisfying. I've been using the rear facing front carry and a hip carry with the ring sling, but I haven't had a good "looking all around" carry with the woven wrap before. The woven wrap is way more comfy than the ring sling, and much more suitable for extended carries, so this is a level up. I used our long woven wrap and tried a couple of times before I found one that worked for us. E was remarkably patient with the process while I faffed about with the sling. In fact I did the second one (the one that worked) in front of a mirror, and they kept grinning at their reflection and giggling when I jiggled or hupped them, and it just took all the stress out of the process. Once they were slung they were like a happy little starfish hanging out in front of me, smiling whenever I saw their reflection, waving their limbs, reaching grabby hands for whatever I was doing, nomming things if they got too close, and occasionally grabbing my thumbs and trying to steer. It was great. We folded and hung up laundry, and they were super happy until I had to unsling them to go to Tai Chi. I'll try it again on my next childcare day. Next challenge: can I cook with E in a forward facing front tie without hurting them? And after that: Back carries!
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Date: 2020-01-07 11:34 pm (UTC)Baby giggles are glorious!
They're spending a lot of voluntary time on their front too. They love throwing themself forward (works better on bed than on floor) and patting toys that are in front of them. The jingly ball is good for this as when it rolls away they do lots of thrashing of limbs trying to Do A Locomote. Crawling is not happening yet but they're giving it a damn good try.
The I-want-to-crawl-but-I-can't-yet-manage-it stage is delicious.
Once they were slung they were like a happy little starfish hanging out in front of me, smiling whenever I saw their reflection, waving their limbs, reaching grabby hands for whatever I was doing, nomming things if they got too close, and occasionally grabbing my thumbs and trying to steer.
♥ ♥
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Date: 2020-01-08 12:10 pm (UTC)