Week 20:

• Feb 4: She rolled over from her tummy to back during tummy time!! We applauded her after she did it and she seemed confused and bewildered lol.
• Feb 5: She rolled over again by herself!! We placed her on a mat and yoga mat on the floor — she had been doing tummy time on our bed exclusively previously — and she rolled over after being placed there immediately. It happened so fast that when my mom went to grab a tissue for her eventual drool that baby had rolled over already (!). We need to watch her closely during tummy time now if she’s on the floor.
• This means that she had been capable of rolling over for a while now, at least since the last time when she did it for the first time. It was because our bed is so soft that it requires more of her muscle to actively roll over that she wasn’t able to do it consistently.
• She’s continuing to do those “ab” exercises by leaning forward a lot. Her neck is super strong now and she’s able to sit up on her own for more than a few seconds at a time.  It’s cute to hold her and see the back of her little head when she’s leaning forward (which is why I see her bald spot even more clearly than before).
• It’s nice to see the other babies in the September group also practising these lean-forwards to know that our little babe will be sitting up soon by herself. It’s fascinating how biology works to ensure these babes keep growing and developing on similar timelines.
• She sticks out her tongue and blows raspberries. She sprays saliva when she does it. She’s practising how to say things. She’s making the “bluh” sound.
• Feb 8: She slept by herself for the longest stretch yet! Nanit reported 9 hours ish of sleep (she was actually in bed for 11 hrs but Nanit minuses the “away” times as not sleeping even though she is still sleeping when we dream feed her. So nice that she slept well and that daddy didn’t have to wake up and had a better sleep.
• We took out the pack-and-play from our room. She doesn’t sleep in the bassinet part of it anymore since she’s over the age limit (limit is 3 months). She’s also not playing independently yet to sit in the bottom part of it so we’re storing it away for now. I can’t believe she had been sleeping there in our room for the previous first three months of her life. It feels so long ago that we switched her over to sleeping in her own room already.
• This past week, I’m able to consistently make 850ml + of milk again. It’s so curious that my supply dropped by 100ml just a week and a half ago.
• Feb 10: I have enough milk made and she’s not upping her supply again that I put a small 75ml bottle into the fridge. I hadn’t been storing bottles into the fridge since end of January. It’ll be ideal for her to up her supply again..
• I had been researching the Montessori method of learning this week and it has opened my eyes to why the Lovevery play kits are so popular. While I don’t think purchasing the kits are necessary, I plan on having baby learn through as minimal toys as possible and most of them wooden and devoid of electronic components. During my research, it’s even made me think of enrolling her into a Montessori school when she is old enough. Alas, the price is so high and ultimately I want her in a public school system anyway so the premium schooling isn’t a priority.
• I adopted a Montessori style toy into her play by attaching one of her existing triangular rattle toys with a ribbon onto her hanging play mat. She sees it, bats it, and grabs it nicely. The only thing is the ribbon isn’t flexible so she can’t really pull it to her mouth for the sensory part, but I can tell she is practising how to grab it.
• She still only primarily uses her right hand for grabbing. She doesn’t utilize her left hand very much.
• I read that hand dominance doesn’t establish until they’re older, so even though she is using her right hand more, it doesn’t mean she’s right-handed just yet.
• Big news this week is that we put her in the high chair for the first time (in preparation for eating solids and so we don’t have to hold her during dinner time anymore)!! We are buying a lot of great condition preloved items like the high chair and a wooden abacus toy from Facebook marketplace. We’re saving the planet by reusing existing items that other people no longer need as well as saving change in our pocketbook. The environmentalist in me is LOVING this! ^_^ We only paid $80 for the high chair which retails for $170 ish full price. We paid less than half of the cost as well as saved on not having to pay tax too!
• When we put her into the high chair for the first time, she stayed in it for the duration of dinner which was probably a good 20 minutes. She looked so bewildered and confused but it was so cute and funny. She gave my mom the funniest confused look almost as if to say, “Why am I in this. Why aren’t you holding me during dinner time like you always do?”
• She stays in the high chair pretty well. I’m looking forward to when she can start eating solids in about 6 weeks’ time (!). It will be a whole new ballgame!!
• She’s been doing this for weeks but whenever she feeds, she likes to kick her legs and rub them a lot.
• She likes to lean forward to look at things when being held.
• Looking forward to putting her in lots of new onesies starting Lunar New Year tomorrow! She’s definitely outgrowing a lot of the ones she has already.
• She started holding items with her left hand now too. She was able to grasp the triangular rattle with both hands.
• She’s started to scratch surfaces with her right hand! Apparently this is a developmental milestone, which is good to see.