Megan is eight months old

Bad Cop, Bon Cop. On November 9th we decided it was time to stop bouncing Miss Megan to sleep. (When I say "we" I mean "Lori"... this holds true for a lot of Megan-related policy.) At first we couldn't deal with the wailing and crying, so we rocked her to sleep for a few weeks. This worked quite well, until one day mommy found daddy asleep at the wheel, so to speak. Operation: Tough Love commenced shortly thereafter. The new routine was: 1) read two stories, 2) say goodnight to Megan's chair, butterflies, window, and lamp, and 3) put Megan in bed and turn on her singing fish mobile. It was agonizing, of course, because Megan would wail and cry heartbreakingly. The first few nights we caved, but soon we toughened up and after a few days Megan would cry herself to sleep within 10 minutes. Lately it's been even shorter! It wasn't so hard after all.

Sounds effects. The past month has been a very vocal one for Megan. She started with heavy use of "ba ba ba ba" and then tried some other sounds: ga ga ga / ka ka ka / pffff. In the past two weeks her babbling has become more complex and polysyllablistic (is that a word?). Some of here phrasing is reminiscent of Cantonese, which is a bit upsetting to Lori's parents, who have been speaking Arabic to Megan for the past seven months. Perhaps there are some Chinese babies out there somewhere inadvertently speaking Arabic..? She's also been talking to her dolly and various other toys. Megan has also learned that different sounds can be made by obstructing her 'noise-maker'--her mouth--with someone else's fingers or even the bottom of her sippy cup. (In this month's video you'll see her in action in Chapter 2: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa.)

Catching the next wave. Megan started waving 'hi' round Nov 23. However, it's not always a "hello" wave. She'll wave at anyone about anything, virtually any time. It's adorable. (See Chapter 4 in this week's video.)

Here's looking at you, kid. Megan loves photographs. She also loves looking at all the photos of herself and her other little friends on our fridge and her grandmother's fridge. There are also some photos of Venice and Stockholm which she enjoys studying. She also loves watching videos of herself on our camera and babbling to her reflection in our hall mirror. She usually tries to kiss the little girl staring back at her by leaning forward toward the glass surface. She also has a new smile - it's kind of a scrunchie smile. You'll see what I mean.

Megan Merchandise. Megan has gone commercial. Check out her new line of merchandise!

Dancing queen. Two weeks ago Megan started dancing to music. Virtually any music! She dances when she's sitting, bouncing her bum and bobbing back and forth. We have lots of video, don't worry! And for a different kind of Megan dance, check out this little jewel Sandy put together.

Speaking of video, since Megan's done so many fun things this month, we've combined all the videos into one single montage. It's approx 8-9 minutes, so it may take some time to load, but it's worth it. The latest photo slideshow is below the video.

All Megan Videos
https://tinyurl.com/y5llzdh6

All Megan Photos
Check out https://www.flickr.com/photos/thefaziltons (login may be required)

Megan is seven months old

Second Wedding. Megan attended her second wedding this month, the joining of Rodney and Natalia. She didn't quite understand that she wasn't supposed to be the star attraction! She was babbling and screeching, no doubt offering helpful suggestions to the officiating clergy.

She who claps last. Megan learned to clap this month (Oct 19 was the first time). She started out tentativey smacking her palms together, though often only one hand would be in motion, the other stock still, ready for the impact. As the weeks go by she seems to be associating clapping more and more with happy emotions. Also, her clapping is now consistently audible as her little baby palms come together.

Swimming with the fishes. Mommy has been taking Megan swimming, getting her used to the water. At first Megan wasn't sure about the whole pool business, but she enjoyed watching the other babies and the ceiling fans. She only cried when Mommy dunked her head! With each passing week she has grown more comfortable and no longer cries when dunked. One day Daddy got to take Megan swimming. Daddy almost cried when Mommy said "ok - dunk her!"

Halloween. Megan's first halloween was this month. If you haven't seen the pics, visit the previous posting for links and hijinks.

Sitting up and taking notice. Over the past month Megan has progressed from tentatively teetering on her tush to totally dominating her derriere. She is now a sitter-upper par excellence. Her fascination with mirrors is also growing. When she sees a reflection of herself now, she jumps for it, wanting to make contact with that cute other baby. Mommy has also played a fun game with her, peering through a plastic ring and calling for Megan on the other side. Megan coos and peers back through the ring.

Crawl space. Although Megan's first flip onto her tummy occurred during her 3rd month, only in the past month has she started to test her ventral mobility. Presently she has mastered the backwards crawl, of which I hope to post a video shortly.

Do yo hear something? Megan has truly discovered her voice. She learned to let loose piercing screams all over the place. She is also mimicking our vocal inflections, especially with a utterance which we like to think is her attempt to say "hiiii!"

7-month birthday disaster. Everything was going fine - we lit the candles, sang happy birthday (pic), and then... Megan (attacked the cake!! She ripped it apart and had chocolate icing all over her hands... all over the coffee table... all over everything! And then she popped her hand in her mouth! But the look on her face was priceless... she's not yet a chocolate fan!

New Videos

Beautiful laughter
Megan wakes up looking way too cute - [ extreme cuteness advisory ]
Megan crawls.... backwards
Megan's birthday party
Captain Megan and the Space Pirates - our intrepid space captain awakens to find herself in a holding cell. She gingerly tests the forcefield, then pulls out her emergency rubber ducky. To Be Continued...

Slideshows

Megan during her 6th month - 34 new images (since Halloween had its own post)
Megan during her 5th month - 100 new images.
Megan at four months - 55 images
Megan at three months - 59 images
Megan at two months - 56 images
Megan from birth - 81 images

First Halloween

Megan's first halloween was tonight and she did everything except eat the actual candy. We dressed her up, got some professional photos taken (see above), posed her with our own jack-o-lantern, tossed her into a pile of candy, and took her for a walk around the neighborhood. By next year she'll be a pro!

View More Halloween Photos!

View Megan's Halloween Video!

This entry comes a little late. Megan is now six-and-a-half months old. So - let's begin!

HBC Rewards. We took Megan to The Bay and while mom was trying on some clothes, I occupied Megan by introducing her to mannequins and art deco.

Sleeping with the fishes. Megan's usual modus operandi during story time is to try and eat the book we're reading her. So we usually give her something else to consume and gnaw on while we're reading. On this particular night I had grabbed a plastic fish from a Dr. Seuss book. However, instead of eating the fish, Megan was waving it in the air, rotating it in her hands, not interested in eating it at all. Once the story was finished I took the fish away and lay Megan in her crib, where she completely fussed and whined and would not settle down. In desperation I handed her the fish. Megan grabbed the fish in her left hand and promptly turned her head to the right and nuzzled her head into the crook of her right arm. She feel asleep in seconds! We haven't been able to reproduce this preference, but for that night the fish was everything. Here is a picture. Would you like to see some video of Megan talking to her fish? It's right here.

Cuddles. Not much to say here except that during the past month Megan has begun cuddling on occasion. Not always, not often, but it's a start. Here's a picture to prove it.

Nova Scotia. We took Megan to Nova Scotia for Thanksgiving to meet the other side of the family. We were a bit concerned about how Megan would handle the flight, but for the most part everything went fine. In fact, she charmed all the people around us. However, we probably shouldn't have allowed her to order from the in-flight menu. We had lots of visits and adventures in Nova Scotia. Megan met her other grandparents (pic1, pic2) as well as her great-grandparents! (Pic1, Pic2, pic2). She also got to play firefighter (pic 1, pic 2), play with Aaron's baby rattle, and watch some fireworks on her 6-month birthday (pic 1, pic 2). On the second-last day we went to a family reunion on Aaron's dad's side, and that was when Megan tried to kiss someone for the first time!

Megan is 5 months old

Welcome to the Megan Update in honour of her five-month birthday! Megan has developed so much in the past month I'm not sure where to start! How about the doctor's appointment she had today? Megan's latest stats:

26.5 inches long (95th percentile)
17 lbs (90th percentile)

Cereal Killer. On August 1 Megan ate cereal for the first time. She consumed five spoonfuls, tried to suck on the spoon, then cried. On Aug 4 Megan sat in her high chair for the first time. Around this time she realized that the spoon is a suck-free device. Now, over a month later, she loves her morning cereal. Today we started feeding it to her in the evening as well. (Unfortunately for poor impatient Megan, she wants the flow of cereal to be as constant as her flow of milk has been.)

Teething begins. On Aug 13 it became apparent that Megan was teething. She was cranky and very very drooly and started going through a lot more diapers! Now she has a hint of two white teeth showing through her bottom gums.

Hands & Eyes & Bums. Megan's hand-eye coordination has improved dramatically over the past month, a result of her desire to put everything in her mouth! Books, forks, salad, camaras, it doesn't matter! She also enjoys sucking the juice out of watermelon and cantelope and taking sips from mom's water glass!

She loves staring at her hands, especially when she's feeding. Her teta has been teaching her an Arabic nursery rhyme during which you hold your hands in the air and rotate them at the wrist. Megan regularly practices these movements while she's feeding, rotating her wrists and studying her own evolving technique with rapt attention!

She has also figured out how to do a vulcan mind-meld. (What's a "mind meld"? Look here and here.)

Megan recognizes her bottle now, reaching for it, crying for it, and grasping it with both hands, succeeding 40% of the time to get the nipple into her mouth.

In the past week Megan has gotten closer to sitting up on her own. She will probably be sitting up on her own in the next month!

Vegetables and Fruit Not So Much. On Aug 25 Megan ate two tablespoons of carrots! After a few days of this we tried squash and then pears. Unfortunately Megan was interested in neither! As soon as we stick in the spoon Megan would stick out her tongue, still loaded with mushy pear!

"Will Bounce for Attention". After two months Megan is still enjoying the jolly jumper, and after a brief period of requiring 100% attention when bouncing, she now prefers to entertaining us, squeeling and smiling and giggling as she tries to beat her latest height record.

Quebec Adventure. On Aug 10 we packed up our small family and pointed the car in the direction of the Eastern Townships of Quebec for a family wedding. Her khalto Sandy came with us, an invaluable babysitter and entertainer. We found time along the way to visit Montreal and Quebec City. Megan had her first caricature sketched in Montreal (which turned out really horribly, as you'll see in the new slideshow) and charmed the pants off a waitress at a nearby cafe. Megan was very well behaved during the four days we were away and only indulged in poutine once or twice ;-)

Megan's new friends!Our intention has always been to announce other recent births as they happen, but I haven't been organized enough to do it, until now...

Videos

I'm experimenting with some online video... let me know if it works for you - it might take several minutes to load. (Mom and Dad Hamilton, it could take a VERY long time for you!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-wPRrInS-g

4 months old today!!

Megan: "Hmmm... there's something familiar about these photos..."


This morning Megan woke up with a funny look on her face, not the usual morning smile for daddy. What was she doing? Then she gave me her 'poo face'. Aha! What a nice way to say good morning to daddy!

Recent accomplishments/milestones

Shop til you burp. Megan's first visit to the Eaton Centre happened on July 21st. Fortunately she behaved herself and didn't put us over our limit. Accompanying us were a couple of khaltos, Sandy and Kristy, and the Fonsecas, Deyves, Jen, and Luiza.

Let the solids begin!. Megan tried cereal for the first time on August 1. Momma tried five spoonsful of cereal, but all Megan did was suck on the spoon and cry in frustration over the strange silver nipple. Since then she's changed her technique. Now she tries to stick out her tongue once the spoon goes in, so you can imagine what happens to the cereal on the spoon... it's a work in progress.

Nutrition Technology. On August 4 Megan sat in her high chair for the first time. It's quite a piece of engineering; modular food tray, chrome structure, alloy wheels, driver-side airbags, and it plays MP3's in 6.1 surround. As you will see from the slideshow pics, Megan definitely needs to grow into it!

Sprouting. Megan had a doctor's appointment on July 31. Verdict: healthy, happy, 26 inches long and 15 pounds!

Bounce like you mean it!. The biggest highlight has probably been the jolly jumper. Megan has been enjoying bouncing like mad for weeks now. At first she couldn't control her spin, so she was bewildered that we kept slipping past her range of vision. Now she's a pro, controlling orientation and bounce speed.

Walks in the park. I almost forgot the mention that Megan's truly loving her outdoor walks, particularly the trees--she loves watching trees! Prediction: our daughter will become an arborist. She also enjoys the Baby Bjorn we strap her into for these walks. There are pics of this device in the slideshow.

3 months old today

Recent events

Roll over Beethoven! A few days before her 3-month birthday, Megan successfully rolled over on her own! She had been working on it for a week or two (we're not sure where she got the idea). Even more amazing was yesterday when, as reported by her grandparents Fazaa, Megan rolled over and then back again!

Twins? Megan is enjoying smiling and cooing at her reflection. She also smiles at Dad's reflection, which leads Dad to wonder if Megan believes she has two identical dads and therefore double allowance when she gets older...

'Babymoon' Can they do it? Can our intrepid Parents of Megan survive one whole week apart from their precious little girl? Will the knowledge that she is perfectly safe and secure in the loving and doting hands of her grandparents Fazaa (not to mention three eager aunties/haltos) be enough to weather the turbulent week ahead? Time (and a few fruity drinks avec umbrellas) will tell.

Megan Celebrates Canada Day 2006

2 MONTHS OLD!! June 7, 2006

What has Megan done lately?

She who laughs last... In the past two weeks she has laughed twice, once for teta (grandma) Fazaa and once for halto (auntie) Sandy. Unfortunately she hasn't laughed for mom and dad, although this morning (june 11) there was a sound uttered in the presence of her daddy which could be interpreted as a chuckle!
Reach out and touch an octopus... this morning (june 11) Megan reached up and grabbed the foot of her stuffed octopus, which hangs from her activity center.
To crawl or not to crawl... Momma put Megan belly-down on the floor to see what she could do... turns out she can kick at 300 babypower, but her arms can't keep up... yet!
Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest...? Momma reports that later this afternoon (june 11) Megan smiled and cooed at her reflection.

Other content...

Slideshow primer: I've reorganized the slideshows. Month 3 pictures have their own new slideshow. You can jump to any picture in a slideshow by moving your mouse to the bottom edge of the black slideshow frame. Doing this will pop up the picture thumbnails. Click on an image to view. Once you do this, you've put the automated slideshow on 'pause'. To 'un-pause' your slideshow, move your mouse to the upper edge of the slideshow frame. A small control panel will pop down and you can click 'PLAY'. You can also use this control panel to change the speed at which the slideshow changes pictures.
Slideshow #1: View the Month 1/Month 2 slideshow (recently updated!)
Slideshow #2: View the new Month 3 gallery (contains 5 or 6 pics)
Information: Read our Baby Talk post below.

Baby Talk

I have found some interesting info related to infants and speech development:

To Baby Talk or Not to Baby Talk?

One question that is often raised is whether adults should speak to infants in "baby talk". A study I reviewed indicated a strong correlation between the quality of the parents' speech and infant speech perception performance. So the short answer is: do not use baby talk.

(Source: Journal of Developmental Science)

Milestones of speech recognition and development

• The beginning signs of communication occur during the first few days of life when an infant learns that a cry will bring food, comfort, and companionship. The newborn also begins to recognize important sounds in his or her environment. The sound of a parent or voice can be one important sound.
  
• As they grow, infants begin to sort out the speech sounds (phonemes) or building blocks that compose the words of their language. Research has shown that by six months of age, most children recognize the basic sounds of their native language.
  
• As the speech mechanism (jaw, lips, and tongue) and voice mature, an infant is able to make controlled sound. This begins in the first few months of life with "cooing," a quiet, pleasant, repetitive vocalization. By six months of age, an infant usually babbles or produces repetitive syllables such as "ba, ba, ba" or "da, da, da." Babbling soon turns into a type of nonsense speech (jargon) that often has the tone and cadence of human speech but does not contain real words.
  
• By the end of their first year, most children have mastered the ability to say a few simple words. Children are most likely unaware of the meaning of their first words, but soon learn the power of those words as others respond to them.
  
• By eighteen months of age, most children can say eight to ten words.
  
• By age two, most are putting words together in crude sentences such as "more milk." During this period, children rapidly learn that words symbolize or represent objects, actions, and thoughts. At this age they also engage in representational or pretend play.
  
• At ages three, four, and five, a child's vocabulary rapidly increases, and he or she begins to master the rules of language.
  

(Source: NIDCD Speech and Language Developmental Milestones)

6 weeks old

(click to enlarge)

Megan is six weeks old and is totally digging her life of leisure: sleep, eat, poo, sleep, eat, poo. To attain that lifestyle in grown-up society you'd either be in prison or at an exclusive mediterranean resort.

Megan is smiling and cooing a lot these days - especially when we're smiling and cooing at her. Her social instincts are kicking in and she's engaging us frequently for smiles and chats about history, politics, and Canada's Top Model. She is also interested in her surroundings - she takes in the sights as we walk her around the house and follows us with her eyes when we lie in a chair or on the floor. We expect her to spontaneously predict Beethoven's 5th Symphony any day now.

What you're really here to see are the latest pictures, so.... view slideshow!

Sign language (and more pics)

Janna posted a comment with a link to Wee Hands, a sign language program offered by the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf. They teach infants sign language starting at four months. Megan is only a month old right now and is only just starting to control her hand movements. However, I have noticed she has considerably control of her legs - is it possible to sign with one's toes?

In other news, I have added a pic to her one month posting (below) and also added a bunch of pics to the slideshow.

View slideshow!

One month old (and this time I mean it)

"Dahling!"

I have been informed that my last post was incorrect: Megan was not a month old on Friday. However, just for the record, she was exactly 4 weeks old. You can understand my confusion. We will be posting a one-month-old picture of Megan in the next day or two, so stay tuned!

Megan is 1 month old tonight!!!

In the past few days Megan's interactivity has increased markedly. She is smirking at me and has grinned exuberantly for Lori on several occasions. She is also reaching for our faces when we talk to her; she's touched my goatee, though she is still uncertain what it's all about. She is still gurgling.

Megan is also demanding a lot more face time these days. And bouncing. She loves to bounce. And she likes to stare at the ceiling as she bounces. We have an exercise ball as our bouncing device.

I heard on the radio about a program for infants (this might be the website, I'm not sure if it's the same one mentioned this morning) which starts teaching them to read at 1 month of age, once their eyesight has improved. It's a controversial idea, but the advocates state that harnessing an infant's colossal learning abilities to read as well as speak makes more sense than waiting several years when their abilities to absorb new information and concepts has diminished. Critics say that infants may not be learning to read, but simply learning to respond to stimuli and positive feedback. Are they really distinguishing letters? Phonetics? Whatever the case, there are three-year-old twins who are reading at a Grade 2 level. There is also a 15-year-old who has a voracious interest in language and reading, so there could be benefits beyond strictly recognizing characters.

Megan is 3 weeks old!

I don't remember how things were when I was three weeks old, but I can tell that things are becoming really interesting for Miss Megan. During the past week she's been demanding a lot more attention, more 'face time', more talks, more songs, and more interesting sights. She is no longer content to sit and stare at the same patch of ceiling; Megan wants to examine the ceilings everywhere, as her mom or dad pace the length and width of the house. Today she also seemed to enjoy sitting perched in daddy's arms, facing outward so she can see everything right-side up.

 

Megan is 10 days old

Someone reminded me this morning that we should be keeping track of Megan's progress as she matures. So here we are. Miss Megan is technically 10 days old. At 8:11 this evening she'll be officially 11 days old. She is getting cuter and more curious by the second.


Thursday April 13 8:30am (6 days old) - Megan laughs for the first time - albeit in her sleep. It was very clearly a baby's laugh, a virtually soundless series of staccato compressions of the diaphragm: H-h-h-h-h without the "ah" sound. She has also been smirking, smiling, and full-out grinning in her sleep. Learn more.



Monday April 17 9:00am (10 days old) - Megan starts proto-babbling in earnest. Although we noticed a few odd sounds from days before, this morning was when Megan repeatedly uttered deliberate sounds instead of simply fussing or crying. The sounds can most accurately be interpreted as imperatives, commands, as opposed to interrogatives, or questions. Possibly she is saying "hey Dad!" or "pull my finger!"



Megan is obviously riding the high tide of social interactivity, having spent a great deal of her first Easter weekend with curious aunts, uncles, and extended family. Hopefully with this kind of inteaction on a regular basis Megan will soon be on a daycare lecture circuit with her dissertation Curiosity did not Kill the Cat and other infant observations.


9:00pm - Megan has been in wiggle mode all day. Not only is she staying awake longer, she is also displaying intense curiosity about the world around her. When awake she thrashes about with her arms and legs until she spies something interesting, then watches it intently. She did this to the microwave this evening. I was forced to explain to her the inner workings of the food-warming device.


In case you haven't checked recently, we've added a few more pics to the slideshow.

Megan Elaine - Born April 7 '06 (pics here!)

Megan Elaine was born 7 lbs 13 ounces
on Friday April 7 at 8:11pm.

We are all doing well and are very happy! We're also very tired. So in lieu of more words, I'll share what people really want to see...

In Utero

In Utero
by Daddy

You will soon awaken, but
For now you exist out of time
And space.

Who you are has been determined
By genetic inheritance and random combination:
Your laugh, your smile,
The colour of your hair, the sparkle in your eyes,
Your emotional disposition and intellectual capacity.
Characteristics determined in that instant of procreation,
Realized through nine months of growth and maturation,
Instructions embedded in strands
Of tightly-coiled serpentine deoxyribonucleic acid.

Manifest destiny suspended in space,
A soul traveller adrift in the universe,
Preparing to disembark upon a shore yet unknown to you,
A space/time traveller approaching your event horizon.
A belief in reincarnation would compel you to ask, presciently,
"where will I be reborn?"

You cannot know what awaits you ex utero:
A small family dressed in skins and huddled in a cave next to a meagre fire?
The warmth of an Iroquois longhouse, surrounded by extended family?
A Zulu family in South Africa speaking comforting words in Kwazulu?
An aristocratic manor in 19th-century France?
Or, an Arab-Canadian family eager to meet you?

Megan, zero-hour approaches.
We choose where you will be loved, but
You choose when you will emerge,
When you grapple space and time firmly with two tiny white-knuckled hands, crying
"I am here!"

T-minus 1 day

According to the "experts" (products of the medicalization of childbirth) our daughter will reach full term tomorrow, April 5. I'm not sure how the pre-science midwives calculated such things, although the nine months rule of thumb has probably been around for a while. They didn't have fancy techniques for measuring hormones, nor basal thermometers for detecting ovulation. They had herbs, potions, and the moon, plus knowledge passed on for hundreds of generations.

Remarkably, all the combined knowledge and wisdom of history's midwives and the West's medical profession can predict the birthdate of our child to an accuracy of only a couple of weeks at best.

In the end nature sides with mommy.

STORK tracking number: 34239

T-Minus 24 days.

If she's on-time, that is.

I plugged the number 34239 into the STORK tracking system. The due date hasn't changed; April 5, 2006. Twenty-four days.

What will she look like? How will we recognize her? Well, below is what we know so far:



As you can see we don't have a lot of go on, except that we know she has two arms, two legs, a head, and a well-defined spine. Gotta love us vertebrates!

The Skipped Beat
For a week or so we believed Megan was missing a heartbeat, but a specialist was able to demonstrate that it was actually an extra beat. There are special cells (nodes) in the heart that release electrical charges at regular intervals to stimulate the heart muscles to contract; natural pacemakers. During the formation of the fetal heart, when two chambers become four, these cell nodes move to their final position. Sometimes there are cell remnants left over from the earlier stage of development. These cell nodes will still send electrical pulses to the heart, causing extra tiny little beats. These beats cannot be detected by doppler fetal heart monitors and so it seems like there is a missed beat. Don't worry, the extra beats will go away before the baby is born.

A lot of preparations have been made for Megan's arrival. She has her own room. She has her own crib. Change table. Curtains. Car seat. Too bad she'll be too 'new' to appreciate everything she's inheriting by arriving into this world. And so we wait. Twenty-four days!!

Flutterby wall art by Khalto Sandy
	Megan's first outfit