Here's a quote from an email I wrote when Nina was 6 weeks old:

"Nina's asleep in the little chair we have. Yesterday I figured out that I can rock her to sleep in it if she's well fed and already kind of drowsy.. the problem today, though, is that when the rocking stops she wakes up! So I'm rocking with my foot, leaving both hands available for typing. I'm getting a bit better at figuring out when she needs a nap *before* she's hysterically tired. Actually it's kind of obvious - she yawns."


I went through this phase when something would work once, and I'd get to thinking - great! this problem's solved! all I have to do is rock the little chair while humming baby beluga after going for a walk in the sun! And then whatever it was would work at most once more and we'd be back to the non-napping, ever-suckling infant days. So it was hard in some ways, and I would wonder how anyone ever takes care of an infant when they also have a toddler around. No doubt part of the answer is that by then, you know what it means when your kid is yawning.

The new word of the week is "self". It's cute, and frustrating at times, this constant need to do things herself. Putting on shoes, taking off nappies, brushing teeth, brushing hair ... but it also feels like she's gained this whole new level of self-awareness, suddenly announcing: self! self! Here I am! I'm me, and GUESS WHAT: I can put my own shoes on.