Sorry I missed my self imposed deadline, this has been one of those weeks. I spent a month on the phone with 5 adjusters from three insurance companies yesterday so Momma pitched in to help you, Constant Reader, get your TNH fix.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Maddy (or as her Daddy calls her, The Madness) is now 5 weeks old.
By this time she should have packed on nearly three more pounds. That may not sound like much but on average that's an increase in body weight of almost 43%. And considering she should have only gained an inch in "height" these first 5 weeks, that additional weight is just her filling out. We can verify that she has gained about three pounds and she is definitely filling out, but we think she's gotten much taller than she 'should' have. She really fills out a lot more of her swing now and some of her sleepers have gone into storage already.
When she's in a sitting position she should be able to hold her head up, if only briefly, and she should be able to lift her head up during 'tummy time.' Putting her in many different positions throughout the course of the day will help her develop and strengthen her muscles. She should be thrusting her arms and legs A LOT and be able to grasp, but likely not hold, anything that is put into her hand. Should her hand find its way to her mouth she may suck her fingers or even her fist to soothe herself. She will be starting to 'uncurl' from the fetal position now as she gains more control of her body, stretching her legs out, arching her back, and twisting from side to side. The Madness is an old pro at holding her head up. During 'tummy time' she can lift her head up but holding it up is another matter altogether. As for the thrusting of arms and legs, we call it marching and she is darn good at it. She'll grasp your finger if you put one in her hand and she is strong enough to give it a real good squeeze. She does a lot of stretching and back arching and twisting (mostly when she's on the changing pad) and when she 'uncurls' she looks like she's riding a luge.
She should see clearly up to 18 inches and see stark contrasts from a much greater distance. She has very little muscle control but she may wave a hand or arm at an object in her line of sight. About this time, baby will begin to recognize the faces and voices of Momma and Daddy. She may become quiet to study a person's face. Her memory for people and objects isn't very good at all yet but it should start picking up in the coming weeks. When spoken to, she may respond by opening and closing her mouth and bobbing her head and she should now be beginning to connect what she sees with what she hears. She is very sensitive to the sound of the human voice, particularly higher pitched voices. She should now be inquisitive enough to quiet herself to hear a new sound but will pay it little attention unless it is a human voice. Speaking to her causes a great many impulses to go through her nerve cells. Repeated interactions will help build existing brain connections and create new ones. She probably enjoys many of the other sounds she hears regularly around the house, particularly music. Maddy's vision is really getting good. She frequently stares at the toys in her pack-n-play and the ones hanging over her in her car seat. She will turn toward the sound of our voices and she will often 'wave' at you when she hears you. It's nearly impossible to tell if Maddy recognizes faces but it looks like she recognizes our voices, Momma's for sure. She is usually very responsive to talking, she coos and twitches her arms and legs and makes faces. She has a smile that makes her parents melt. Maddy and Daddy listen to music every morning, she favors big-beat techno, trip-hop, and ambient drum and bass, but she'll also listen to low-fi and the standards, of course. As to the rest, her memory is tough for us to gauge right now.
That's all we have for today.
That's right, there's no pictures today.
'til next time.
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