Hailey was so easy to please until we got her a bumbo chair. Now she thinks she is entitled to sit up whenever she is awake... which is most of the day. She loves to look around and watch people around her. We even put the bumbo in her stroller so she can have a nice scenic view on walks. She absolutely hates being on her back. She doesn't want to be on her back to be changed or while she is in her baby bathtub... or any other practical time. She puts up quite a fight and then attempts to lift herself up or roll over. She recently learned how to roll over. The first couple times she landed on her back you could tell she was startled and confused at how she got like that. If I don't watch her she will roll right off her changing table.
She loves to suck her thumb and chew on her toes. She likes to scoot around and is learning to crawl. The other night we left her on the floor in her room to play with her toys while we ate dinner. I knew it was too good to be true. She was doing good for a while until we heard her screaming.... she made it off the rug and was head butting the recliner in the corner.
She is also quite entertained by looking at herself in the mirror above her changing table. It is summer and warm and I have discovered she is happier in a diaper and headband than she is with clothes on. She likes having good-smelling lotion massaged onto her feet after a bath... and she takes lots of baths. I find it easier to hose her down in our immaculately clean kitchen sink than to use half a box of wipees cleaning up poo. It is faster and easier. I can't stand a sink full of dirty dishes so our sink is usually pretty empty. A couple of years ago I saw a commercial on tv that said kitchen sinks have more germs than toilets.... and that's when I became obsessed with bleaching our sink.
Overall she is a happy baby. She is happiest when she is being held and can interact with others. We see that as a reflection of her personality and think she will be a people person. She is lucky for there is always someone around who wants to hold her. It's interesting that occasionally someone will tell us we are spoiling her. As it turns out the "spoil them attitude" developed during the 1920's and has turned out to be nothing but nonsense. People believed holding a baby a lot, feeding on cue, and responding to cries would create a monstrous, clingy and insecure child. The current research done on parenting styles and behavior in older children has found the opposite to be true. Babies who are held more and responded to quickly when they cry are less clingy and more independent later on. It is healthy for children to go through a stage of dependence in order to become independent later on.
