Baby Uma: May 2006

I've been saying to everyone that Uma is 4 months old for a couple of weeks now but realized that today she was only 15 weeks. The whole week/month B.S. has me totally befuddled apparently (it's all the oxytocin :)
When I can't blame hormones for absent-mindedness thang I'll be in trouble.
**((My dentist told me (over very bloody gums) when I was pregnant that "hormones are bigger than g-d". I loved her for saying that.))**

The big news this week is that Uma is in the 97th percentile for both her weight and her height. Perfectly proportioned, but yes- a bit fluffy (not fat!) She's "thriving". She's rolling in at almost 18 lbs and she's 27 inches long! She's Baby Kong! Those Kucera genes are gonna make that girl an Amazon!

The big news a few weeks back was that she rolled over. So what? some of you out there may be saying- but if you were there you would have been hooting and hollering with the rest of us. It was amazing. The neighbors even heard the commotion. She's only done it a few times since then but it's a milestone.

Uma's here on my teat as a type one-handed- a new skill I'm honing. For better or for worse, in the last couple of weeks Uma has started taking notice of the computer screen. She squealed when I was downloading pictures of her- thrilled to see herself smiling back. Usually, it's more of a distraction, though- Uma is now at the stage where the world around her vies for her attention as much as "the boob" (that's me- the walking boob). She loves to suck a little, take a look around, come back and so on...like she's having brunch with friends. This is all good when we're in the sanctuary of our home but in public it's a little more difficult to just hang out exposed ready for when Ms Uma might want to graze.

Uma also notices toys now, as well as OTHER BABIES, herself in the mirror, and the other days she sang an aria to a neon light. It was like the Sounds of Silence. Bizarre.

Ahh- the life of a Moosupial(a KangaMoo)TM***
Whereas I am embodying both the holy cow and some bipedal marsupial,
Uma is definitely part dolphin.

This girl squeals at octaves that would rival Flipper. It's dolphinicity. She talks up a storm- so sing-songy and full of it. When she takes her fist out of her mouth, she's actually quite eloquent.

The girl is a drool factory. She's made a science of making spit bubbles. I never foresaw my daughter being such a slobbering mess, but then again I never imagined myself with leaky boobs (egads!)

She is an outright flirt now- she makes strong eye-contact and smiles right at strangers all the time. She plays so coy. It amazes me as I don't think that behavior is modeled for her anywhere to copy. She probably learned it the same place she learned to pull out that lower lip like a shelf- Baby-drama school.

Apparently, they say we're in the golden age of babyhood. I don't know who "they" are, but they certainly say a lot. But this I can live with. All the glory, none of the pain(well, comparingly). She's all googoogaagaa, darling, shiny, interactive (dripping with spit) however there's no talking back AND she stays put when you have to leave her for a second. I'm savoring this as I can tell that as soon as she starts moving, it'll be a whole new reality.