Babies amazing development Part 1

Can't believe it Charleigh is 6 months old on Friday!!!   it is crazy how time flies when you are responding to cries, feeding, changing diapers and doing crazy things to make these precious babies smile. 


For  the last 5 years I worked at an Early Learning child care center.  The director there pushed us to get more education.  I  went to a couple seminars on infants and toddler development.  At one of  them, the instructor got out a ball of yarn and had us throw it at another person in the circle as she told us a scenario the infant might face.  If it was a stressful  situation a person would drop their side of the string  section.  The lesson behind this activity was to show how the synapses in the brain connect and reinforced or how they can be interrupted during this crucial time of development..  It's one thing to actually hear  the material and see an object lesson.  It is another to experience it first hand.


never worked in an infant room so I was not sure what to expect when Charleigh was born. Would I really know what to do or enhance the enviroment so that all the synapses would make a web of smooth flowing information, which would benefit her development in four areas,learning language, motor skills, cognitive (thinking) , social (interacting with others). It is my opinion (which is based on the experiences with my daughter), the nature vs nurture argument is about balance. Both have to be present. Charleigh has many of her mom and dad's personality traits. She is determined like her mom yet very laid back like her dad until something goes wrong like not getting fed soon enough. But I can meet her needs and play with her and those qualities mature and change for the better or worse depending on how I deal with the situation.


Let's go back to the beginning, Charleigh was good sized when she was born weighing 8lb 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. She weighed in last week at 16 lb 2 oz.  She is growing like a little weed. Other physical changes has seen is her hair. She came out with just a little bit.  It did not grow until we started feeding her cereal.  Then overnight, you could see a difference. 
Regular food has been fascinating to her since about the 3rd month.  She would watch us intently every time we ate.  If we were eating something while holding her on our lap she would mimic us by opening her mouth and leaning forward.  So we start cereal at the middle of 4 months.  She is a natural eater.  We have not found a food she doesn't like yet.  So far her diet consists of  oatmeal, rice, or barley cereal and  peas, carrots, green beans, squash, avocados and prunes.  I am making my own baby food, that has been a fun challenge for me. 










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