The Intrepid Explorer

She loves to be outside more than anything else in the world - well with the possible exception of food. Most mornings by 6.30am she is at the front door, shoes and snowsuit in hand, pointing frantically at the stroller. Just in the last few days she wants to walk everywhere and so, despite the fact that it takes so much longer and is so fraught with potential obstacles and distractions, we venture out by foot, Phoebe in one hand, stroller in the other.

Words are coming more and more by day, and one of her favourites is "no" (meaning snow). This morning we woke to find that snow had settled overnight. We ventured to the park only to discover that it was as yet untouched and off she went.

She explores with serious intent, taking in the whole experience as her feet crunch in the snow. The hidden changes of surface (up and down the paved areas) don't phase her, she is steady and sure-footed after hours of practice on every possible surface.

Inside she loves her babies and loads them into her doll stroller, whether two, three or any number up to 7 or 8! Babies are piled in and blankets and clothes stuffed on top of them. With a couple of bags hung on the handles she wanders off. "Bye bye" she always calls with a very matter-of-fact tone only to appear again round the corner of the table seconds later.

Food is a major passion, and she eats nearly everything. She picks out green vegetables first, and has recently been expanding her carnivorous side.

Sleep these days is an easy affair - to bed around 6.30 with bath, milk and one song in bed. If she's not asleep when I put her in, she hums and chats to herself, her babies and her teddies until she drops off. Only one nap now, but a decent length - between 1 and 2 hours.

She runs and climbs everywhere she can, and is desperate to jump.

She is a happy, active child.

Life is good.

Age: 15 months

It has been a long time. Months. How things have changed. Phoebe is now officially a toddler. She started walking unaided a week before her first birthday. It was a moment of great significance, and how she has grown from those first tottering steps, taken between Dan and I, with both of us arms outstretched ready to catch her. These days she can negotiate small steps and ramps with ease (thanks to Fantasia) and runs and jumps around the place as though being vertical were the most natural thing in the world.

The top left photo is Kathy with Phoebe. Kathy runs the NYU breastfeeding support group that we have been to almost every Wednesday since Phoebe was 12 days old. I still remember so clearly the first time that we went - it was the first time that I had been out on my own with Phoebe and was full of fear and trepidation. It turned out to be a place that saved me in the first few months. I have made many of my best "mommy" friends through the group, and we have enjoyed every moment of our time there. At the beginning it was a safe haven, and sometimes I would count the days until Wednesday. Going there just for an hour or so and sitting breastfeeding whilst talking to all the other moms, was such a source of comfort and support. I would leave every Wednesday afternoon feeling more confident and more able, however tired and challenged I might have felt that morning. I am sad to be leaving, but Phoebe's nap schedule and the growing numbers of newborns (and lack of older babies) makes it seem the right thing to do. I wish that there were more moms who were still breastfeeding their toddlers and not going back to work - but in the city, to be honest, I don't think there are many of us.

The second photo is Phoebe with her baby. She loves dolls and her stroller. She spends hours pushing it around the apartment and the park. She quickly learnt how to negotiate steps and handles it now like a pro.

Toddlerhood. So many thoughts. So much to say.

All in good time.

Age: nearly 9 months!

How has the time flown by? And why have I been so bad at updating the blog?

I'm not sure why it's been so long. Partly, I blame it on the fact that Phoebe is so active these days, and sleeps so little during the day that I no longer have lots of time to devote to the blog. But actually that's not it, because she never really slept for hours at a time, and she goes to bed really consistently and with minimal protest these days at 6.30PM. So who knows?

Well, anyway, I'm back at it. As the photo demonstrates Phoebe is desperate to walk. She started crawling last Wednesday and constantly wants to walk around the apartment holding onto my fingers - which means I have to bend forwards as I walk  - it's a back killer! She is very demanding at the moment, only because her mission to walk requires me to supervise her constantly. Gone are the days when she would sit and play happily on the play mat for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. I'm not meaning to complain. I do want her to be motivated to move. It's just exhausting. Two lower teeth broke through in January and now the top two are breaking through. In the last couple of months we have been battling bouts of eczema and she was finally diagnosed as showing signs of allergy to cow's milk protein and peanuts. So I have given up both in my diet (this leaves me a vegan who eats fish and eggs - what fun!) and her skin has cleared considerably.

She chants mostly two sounds - ma and ba. She sometimes very clearly says "mama" and we think she relates this to me, or to milk, which are one the same, so it works either way!

It is amazing how in the last couple of weeks she seems to be transforming clearly into an older baby  - obviously that is happening constantly, but at times spurts are really obvious. She is much more aware of object permanence and sometimes shows real signs of stranger anxiety. Despite her recent obsession with physical goals, she still loves books and enjoys exploring every aspect of her toys and what they can do. She has a real sense of humor already, and is generally very good natured. Really, we couldn't have asked for a sweeter or more rewarding little girl.

Age: 5 months, 2 weeks

"I love my book of baby faces."

Age: 5 Months, 7 days

"Just practising for going onto solids." (Mummy Sam has a new MinoHD which makes video blogging so much easier).

Age: 4 months, 2 weeks and 3 days

It has been a while - several weeks in fact. We have been enjoying visits from Aunty Caroline and Daddy Brett and somehow with one thing and another I haven't managed to update.

Phoebe is sitting up unaided! She really is in her sociable phase now, she loves playing with people and smiles and gurgles at almost anyone who will give her the time of day. She has been desperately trying to sit on her own for a while, and although she is a little wobbly still sometimes, she often manages to sit for a good few minutes without her hands on the ground. She is noticeably more content these days. She barely cries now, except when she is tired. Feeding takes little more than 10 or 15 minutes  - the days of her hanging out for 45 mins to an hour for a feed are over. She is very interested in food and watches intently when we eat. Little more than a month to go before we can start her on solids, and I think she is really getting ready for it.

My main objective remains to try and regulate her sleep patterns. She is now getting much better and winding down in the evenings and often goes to sleep with little or almost no crying. Going back to sleep in the nighttime after feeds is also no problem at all.

So, we are working on day time naps, and I am trying to get her to take them in the crib rather than the stroller. I have been reading an excellent book on sleep habits and training, which is helping me better anticipate her tiredness and therefore be more effective in working out the time to let her wind down and put her in the crib. We still have some way to go with this, but I feel as though things are improving significantly.

Now I just need to sleep train myself - despite needing every bit of sleep I can get I woke this morning at 5.30am and couldn't get back to sleep - hence why I am writing this at 6.30am!

Age: 17 weeks, 5 days

At the weekend we went upstate to Dressel Farms to pick a pumpkin. We ended up apple picking also. It was a beautiful, clear day and the setting was just idyllic.

This past week we have had our friend, Caroline, staying and on Tuesday Brett (Phoebe's dad) also flew in from the UK. Both had not seen Phoebe since our visit to England when she was not even yet 2 months old. It has been wonderful to see their surprise and joy at the changes in her, and also to see how much delight she takes in hanging out and playing with them. She is really becoming a happy and sociable little one who increasingly enjoys the company of others.