Tag Archives: newborn

Normal Stages of Reading with a Baby or Toddler

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As I’ve been through Reading 1000 Books before Kindergarten with my two oldest kids, I’ve realized that there are various “stages” of reading with children, especially reading with my babies. I started reading with my babies from their infancy, and my third child is nearly two. My thoughts on baby-reading stages are based on my personal observations of three different babies in a house that is full of book-lovers. It’s not scientific. Still, it’s a reminder that it is never to young to start reading with a baby!

When my son was a baby, I visited the library for myself mainly. On one particular day, when he was about six months old, I handed him a baby board book to hold as he sat in the stroller so he had something to hold while I searched for my book of choice. Imagine my surprise when an older lady commented, “Don’t you think he’s a bit too young?”

I’ve thought about that many times in the past 9 years. No, ma’am, I don’t think my son was too young for a book! Was he maybe too young to treat it with gentle reverence? Probably. But babies are never to young for books.

Babies are never too young for you to start reading to them. Read to your baby even if it puts her to sleep! Eventually she'll want to eat it, then read it, and finally love it!
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It’s Official

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When Paul was newborn, I ran a poll asking you who Paul looks most like. The final vote was for Mommy, although Grandma Peggy mentioned that she thinks he’s a perfect blend of both of us. I think she wins the prize on that one. Here’s the result from when he was newborn.

Here’s the result as of last month, which is what I’ve been saying all along.

Paul looks most like Daddy, but Mommy comes in as a close second!

FYI, according to a similar test, he looks 10% more like Grandma Peggy than Papa Paul and he looks equally like Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson.

(P.S. Thanks to my sister for finding this fun link!)

Paul and the Pacifier

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Title: Paul and the Pacifier

Starring: Paul

Synopsis: Paul is minding his own business and enjoying his pacifier when an unseen force pries it out of his mouth. He knows the pacifier is nearby and struggles to get it back. It is a cruel world. The effort wears him out and he begins to fall asleep.

Editor’s note: Paul will be very happy when he figures out how to use those hands of his!

Smiles

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Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem.
Begin, baby boy, to recognize your mother with a smile.
—-Virgil, Eclogues: Book 4, Line 60

I went shopping without the family on Saturday. Shortly after I came home, I went to change Paul’s diaper. As I put him on the change table, he looked up at me and smiled! It was delightful.

There is chance it was still a reflexive smile and he didn’t recognize me or intend to smile. But it was delightful all the same. I look forward to more!

Week 3 Update

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Paul is now more than 3 weeks old. Here are some updates about him.

  • He hasn’t been weighed since he was a week and half old. Then, he was 3050 grams. His birth weight was 3116 grams, so he hadn’t yet gained back to his birth weight. However, since then, I suspect he has gained much more than those lacking 66 grams. To us, it looks like his face and chest are filling out. His thighs and legs are still skinny but that doesn’t stop Daddy from nicknaming Paul “Porkchop.” (I think it’s a bit premature since he is still so tiny!) He’ll be weighed next on 7 November, his first month birthday.
  • Mommy suspects Paul went through a growth spurt over the weekend. He wanted to eat every hour on Friday afternoon and evening and then he kept wanting to eat every two hours all night! (He had been sleeping 4 hours plus each night, but that phase ended this weekend unfortunately!)
  • Paul has stronger lungs than he used to have. His cry is louder and he is much more determined to get attention when he’s unhappy.
  • His eyes are no longer blue-ish gray. They are darkening and already look more gray than anything else. I suspect they aren’t done changing color. We could end up with brown eyes yet!

Genius Baby

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This baby is a genius. He thinks he can crawl. If he’s on his belly on Daddy’s chest, he crawls up. I tried to capture his crawling on video. It may not look like much to you, but I’m impressed….

(P.S. Yes, I know the crawl reflex is a newborn reflex that goes away after a few weeks or months.)