Lula got her first pair of real shoes this past weekend -- a pair of these from a Stride-Rite in Connecticut (thanks, Connecticut Grandparents!). Lula is a size 4 1/2 XW. That's Extra-Wide, folks. The shoes are a bit of a struggle, as Lula likes to curl up her toes during the shoe application process, which pretty much brings the process to a halt. I've tried tickling her, standing her up, laying her down, etc., and the only thing that semi-works is sticking a finger under her foot and physically preventing her toes from curling while I try and jam the shoes on her. Once they're on, she clomps around and wobbles like a drunken sailor. But that's getting better each day.
There's been some advances in language development. "Ba!" is still a favorite and means baby, ball, or sheep-noise, depending on the context. She knows that cows go "Mmmm," and dogs go "Fffff." Totally brilliant. I guess the vowel sounds will come later... I've been singing "What a Wonderful World" while nursing her before naps, and it took me a while to realize that she breaks off from nursing and says "ba!" to me every time I sing, "I hear babies crying..." In fact, she broke off and moo-ed at me tonight when I sang the words "ever mooooving and free" (from the folk song "River.")
I've forgotten to give you the check-up data. Here it is:
Height: 31.5 in. (97%)
Weight: 22 lb. 4 oz. (69%)
Head Circ. (when do they stop measuring this?): 48 cm (97%)
I told the doctor that she hasn't figured out how to sit up from a lying down position yet, and the doc told me to go ahead and call Early Intervention. It's a statewide program that provides free early intervention (duh) in the form of physical therapy and the like. "They will teach her how to sit up," the doctor said. "Wow!" said I. I haven't called yet...
Foodwise, the cow's milk? Not a hit. It enters her mouth and immediately exits again. She still loves loves loves cottage cheese and yogurt, so she's getting her dairy. And she will ALWAYS eat popcorn, Cheerios, Zwieback toast, crackers, animal crackers, cookies -- basically, any carbs. But in general she's been accepting fewer foods, not more. I'm still trying to find a vegetable that she will eat. Rejections so far: carrots, peas, string beans, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli. I've tried steaming them and mashing them and mixing them with favorite foods (the afore-mentioned dairy items) but no dice.
Sometimes Lula grabs my cheeks with her little hands and moves my face so she can "kiss" me on the lips with her mouth open wide. And when she walks 4-5 steps (at a time! by herself!) toward me, falling into my arms, she giggles with wild delight, panting with a sort of "hoo! hoo!" noise. Her sleep schedule still deeply sucks. But still every day I think my heart might burst from the love.
