27 Weeks Old
Cameron used to talk and coo constantly but lately she’s been less vocal and more observant. She is becoming super active so perhaps she has transferred her talking energy to mobile energy. This girl cannot be stopped. She wants to be everywhere and touch everything. She is still creeping vs crawling but she can make it across the floor in no time. She goes from one thing to the next… first exploring her toys and then heading after the dog toys, my shoes, the furniture…
For the past couple weeks, Cameron has been breaking out of the tightest swaddles at least once during the night. She cannot sleep well unswaddled. She rubs her face with her hands which half-wakes her into a fussy, tired, zombie-like state. Her tossing and noises wake me up so I have get out of bed to go reswaddle her. She falls fast asleep again within seconds but it has still interrupted our night . This has not been good for either of us because we both need a good night’s sleep to be happy people during the day. If she doesn’t get enough sleep, she gets very grouchy in the evenings… and honestly, so do I.
After doing some research, I ordered the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit from Amazon. This is marketed as a product for transitioning babies out of swaddling by “providing them with a cozy and secure feeling, and muffling their reflexive startles.” I was skeptical but figured I could always return it if it didn’t work. The suit arrived yesterday and we used it last night for the first time. The verdict? It IS a magic suit! Cameron fell asleep within minutes and slept for 12 hours, without waking herself up at all! She actually would have slept longer but I woke her up to keep her on schedule.
This is a plush poly-fil suit that has a microfleece on the outside and a breathable t-shirt knit material on the inside. Cameron can bend her arms but not far enough that they reach her face to wake her up. I imagine it’s almost like being in a thick soft snowsuit. I did worry about her getting too warm so I turned up the air conditioning. She stayed cool and didn’t sweat at all. Under the suit, she had on a diaper and a short sleeve onesie, and socks (since the suit is footless). I bought the 3-6 month (12-18 lb) size and it fits Cameron perfectly since she is less than 16 lbs. I hopeful that by the time she outgrows the suit, she’ll be ready to sleep without it.
Cameron has been fascinated with noise makers lately. When she picks something up, it first goes in her mouth for a taste, and then it gets violently shaken to see if it makes noise. I am taking advantage of this new noise-making interest to introduce the piano! I have played the piano all of my life and in my adult years have also taken up the guitar, ukulele, cello, violin, flute, and tambourine. My parents spent goodness-knows-how-much on piano lessons so the least I can do is pass my musical knowledge onto my children.
At first, Cameron touched the keys softly and then grabbed my hand and hit the keys with it 🙂 Now, she pounds the keys by herself and has a blast! She likes the lower octaves best and often shouts sings as she plays. We sit in front of the keyboard for as long as she stays interested each day (usually about 10 minutes) and I let her explore on her own though occasionally I excite her with a chord or scale. I plan on letting her see and hear me play different instruments to develop interest and curiosity, letting her explore and play on her own, and eventually (in a few years) start guiding her with lessons.
*******