Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Huge Week: Developmental Milestones Galore

Phew! What a week. Baby Field Notes must have finally flipped whatever switch gets flipped when a whole new cognitive system comes online. All in the last week we saw some big developmental milestones.

It started with sitting herself up from lying down on her back and then later that afternoon I felt her first sharp tooth emerging from her gums. The next day she took her first steps while holding onto my hands. Previously she only 'walked' by me moving her legs for her. She seemed to like the sensation and accomplishment of moving forward in spite of the great physical exertion. Physical therapy is hard work! But no way did expect that in just days she would be stepping forward on her own. The first time she bent her knee, lifted her foot up and set it down in front of her I was surprised. I thought it was just a fluke, like the day she said BIG, but then she did it over and over again, for twenty feet! And then she kept stepping — more that night — and has been doing it ever since.

And then just today she clapped her hands together. When I noticed I exclaimed to Mr. Field Notes who told me she had actually done that yesterday while we were all out on a stroller walk. Yesterday. It has been very exciting around here the last several days!

It is amazing to me both how slowly — and how quickly — human development progresses. Being a primatologist, I am anxiously awaiting her first attempt at grooming. That will be super exciting. No one, as far as I know, has cared to note when that starts happening for humans, and it's not something I've looked into much for other primates, but I do recall somewhere that either Jane Goodall or Anne Pusey has noted when young chimpanzees first start to groom others. I see signs that Baby Field Notes is getting ready to groom. She notices smaller bits of stuff on the floor and has the fine motor skills now to pick up small things, like a tiny leaf, for example, so I know physically she could do it, but I am not sure she yet has the cognitive capacity to intentionally 'clean' something.

Her babbles are getting more prolific now too:
n-n-n-nay
mmmmmm
g-g-g
th-th-thuh
b-b-bah
puh-puh-puh-up
d-d-d-dah-dad

We've heard some ma-mas and some da-das but not for the specific parent. I half expect her to say Yuki or Katy before Mommy, honestly. Those dogs continue to entertain her, and her them. Yuki, the slightly smaller, younger Newf is her BFF. Katy is interesting too, but not nearly, and I think isn't nearly so because she is more stand-offish. Big K is just harder to get to know!

3 comments:

Unbalanced Reaction said...

What an exciting week!

Many of my friends are encountering similar milestones with their kids, so it is really interesting to read about it from a sciency perspective.

Becky said...

Wow. Kayla has yet to come close to a tooth yet, though she has been stepping for quite a while now. I can't wait until she assigns "da-da" and "ma-ma" to the appropriate parent; but I wonder how I'll know she's done that.

I wonder if this is what's in store for BFN's future: Dormancy of development and then BOOM!!! Everything at once. Could make for an interesting childhood. :)

punchanella said...

holy crap, she's cute.

i know that wasn't the point of this post... but SO. CUTE.

:)