March 24, 2000 - Friday
A couple updates to Harry's three month abilities: he's definitely able to hold his head level with his body when pulled up to a sitting position. He does it half the time and I find it extremely cute. His neck, still not strong enough to perfectly control is head, makes his top wobble slightly like one of those string-necked toys as he looks around to regain his bearings.

I've been working on getting him to roll over, but he seems to be a couple of weeks away from that skill. With the current thinking in 'babies' being to lay them on their backs, rather than stomachs, Harry spends only a few, well-supervised short sessions on his front per day. When he does, he usually seems like he's trying his best to roll over, but he doesn't quite have it yet. If I position his right arm underneath his chest and give him just a little leverage for his left arm, he can usually make it over from there, but his arms don't seem to be strong enough and his leg kicks still a little too random to do the job effectively.

On the other hand, somehow all his kicking in the chair has made his legs strong. Today, he was able to bear his full weight on his legs for a couple seconds at a time. Of course, he's hopeless for the time being at keeping his balance, but he's on his way to standing and it's very exciting for his parents.

We pay close attention to these milestones, but I don't think we're obsessed with them. The fact is that babies don't carry on thoughtful conversations and do much of the same thing day after day, especially now that there is something of a somewhat predictable routine. We read books (not deep books), Harry looks at his lions and bears that we hold in front of his face, he plays on the Gymini, and eats and sleeps. As much as anything else, looking for these new abilities is an interesting way to keep baby and parents occupied.


Comments, opinions?