At least once a week Patty takes Katherine to Gymboree and the Gymcrawlers class. We’ve never been to class, but apparently Katherine has a blast! Patty and her daughter Paulette took these pictures at their last class. Katherine crawled into the tunnel for the first time; see her big smile! She also played on the parachute and in the inner tube. We’re thinking of moving her to the Gymwalkers class, since she is now walking with assistance.
Faerber-izing Continued…
We’re plugging ahead with the Faeber method, and so far it’s working well. Since her first two nights, she cried 12 minutes the third night and only 5 minutes the fourth night. Last night, she cried 2 minutes and started to suck her thumb vigorously (we could hear this on the monitor). This crying, sucking cycle went on for about 15-20 minutes. In all, she only cries a few minutes at a time and is learning how to soothe herself to sleep.
The next step is to do this consistently with all naps and during the night. For instance, last night at 11:30, she was really mad that I put her down after I gave her a snack. She spent at least 20 minutes, cycling between thrashing around in her crib, letting out a few cries and sucking her thumb. This morning I put her down semi-sleepy and she did the same for 40 minutes. So, hopefully, this length of time will shorten and she will be able to fall sleep quickly and easily on her own.
The biggest challenge, funnily enough, is coordinating efforts across the entire family. The third night, Steve and I agreed that we wouldn’t go in her room for 15 minutes. Well, as I headed upstairs right as she stopped crying, I saw Bisco padding out of her room! I guess he heard her crying and was checking up on her. Also, last night I had put Katherine down to find Steve holding her 5 minutes later – not realizing that I was letting Katherine put herself to sleep.
Getting More and More Mobile…
Katherine can pull herself up using almost anything now. She uses the toys that hang off of her toy bookcase to get to a standing position. Once she’s standing, she pulls toys, books out of her bookcase and plays with them for a bit. We also removed the Pack and Play and put down her quilt and toys. This is now her area for standing next to her block and table. She crawls between this area and her bookcase freely.
She’s becoming a frighteningly fast crawler. This morning, I turned around to put a music CD in the DVD player. When I turned back around, I found her under the side table picking up device that turns out the lamp. She’s also learned to make a beeline for any power cord in the family room that’s readily available. I guess we’ll be baby proofing the family room some more this weekend.
