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.

Age: 16 weeks, 4 days

I have been a bad blogger...

The reality is that by the time I get Phoebe in bed and asleep, I am ready to drop - often without even eating dinner, which I know is very bad because I need to keep eating a healthy and nutritious diet for breast feeding.

It's not that things aren't happening. It's just that it's so hard to find time to myself to write. Phoebe is napping less and less in the daytime now and when she is awake I need to take advantage of the times when she will play on her own to get basic household tasks done.

Clearly this isn't going to be a daily account. Instead I will write whenever I can.

In the last few days Phoebe has developed a few new tricks. When she is feeding sometimes she pulls away from the breast and looks sideways at me until I look at her - then she makes a big grin, but when I smile back she quickly turns her head back to the breast. It's like a formative version of hide and seek, without any actual hiding. It's very funny, and it's difficult for me not to laugh and play along with the game - which sometimes means that feeding is compromised, but I figure we can afford a bit of that.

She has a rash on her leg, so when I change her I have to put a mit on her right hand to stop her from scratching - she waits til I am watching then whips it off with the other hand. Once she even threw it over her head!

I'm sure all of this is only a hint of things to come.

16 weeks, 2 days

"I wonder..."

Age: 15 weeks, 6 days

"The weather turned chilly today, so I decided it was time for my bear disguise."

For two nights in a row now Phoebe has been in bed asleep before 6.30PM with almost no crying at all. I don't want to jinx it by suggesting that a corner has been turned, but I'm hoping that might be the case.

Today she rolled over from tummy to back - almost by mistake I think, but then she did it again and with enough conviction that I was convinced that she did actually mean to do it!

She is getting stronger and stronger daily. I don't think it will be long now until she is sitting - she loves to be in an upright position, even more so than on her tummy. I sit with her on the floor balanced between my legs and a couple of times now she has leant forward and put her hands on the floor in a way that enables her to balance. She still gets frustrated on her tummy when on the floor, although she sleeps like that all the time now (we have learnt to relax, and sleep too!). Last night I watched her in her crib before she went to sleep and saw her pushing herself forwards by pulling up her knees, pushing her bottom in the air, and propelling forward. I've not seen her do that on the floor and am thinking that maybe it's easier to do in her sleepy sack.

Daytime sleeps also seem to be falling into something of a pattern - a 90 minute nap at around 10AM then a 30 minute nap sometime between 12 and 2, and another 30 minute nap at 3.30. I am trying to make sure that she doesn't nap past 4PM as I'm thinking maybe this is the key to getting her to sleep easily for the night. Who knows though, I have already learnt that as soon as you think a pattern is being established something throws it for a loop. It never pays to be complacent.

It is wonderful to watch her interest in the world. She is happy to spend much time on my knee out at the park, or other people watching venues. She bounces backwards and forwards looking around. She especially loves to watch other babies and small children. Sometimes she vocalises, I'm not sure that she's specifically talking to me, I think it's just general enthusiasm for the crowd.

When she's in her stroller she also looks around intently, usually with a very serious expression on her face.

As I write I hear that she has woken and started to cry - what was that I was saying about turning a corner?...

Age: 15 weeks, 5 days

"Not now, I'm feeding."

A word about feeding. When Phoebe was born and put to the breast our doula said "I think you've given birth to a leech." She has a very strong suck and loves to eat. She regards feeding something of a private affair and often puts a hand over her mouth so that no-one, me included, can watch her feed. She is very serious and passionate about her meals and once she is done enjoys the most luxurious stretch you can imagine while screwing her red, milk-drunk face into a squished shape. Nowadays she launches herself at the breast with a wide mouth and doesn't need any help latching on. In the last few days she has figured out while sitting on my knee that the milk is behind her, so she has learnt to fling herself backwards whilst turning her head, thus getting herself into feeding position at any time she likes.

When she was a newborn I used to try to stroke and cuddle her while she was feeding - she always indignantly shrugged me off, as if to say, "Not now, I'm feeding!"

I read somewhere that for young babies, the way in which they feed is their first means of communication. I certainly feel that the determination, tenacity and enthusiasm with which she approaches her meal times says something of her character...at least I hope so.

Either way, I am eternally grateful that she loves to feed.

Age:15 weeks, 2 days

Phoebe's first laugh - I can't believe that I caught this on video.

Priceless...