As most newborns do, Mariah spent about 90% of her first month sleeping. But in between naps, she would occasionally reveal tidbits of her personality. At 4 days old, I remember watching her try, and try again, to get her tiny little fingers into her mouth. She probably spent a solid 20 minutes and countless failed attempts before finally giving up. Each time her fingers came within reach of sucking, a twinkle of hope appeared in her eyes but was quickly replaced by frustration as her fingers inevitably slipped out. It happened to be the first night my baby blues hit, when I too was being hard on myself, in terms of adjusting to the role of motherhood. I caught myself comforting Mariah and telling her she didn’t have to learn how to be a baby all at once, and in the same moment it occurred to me that I didn’t need to learn how to be a mom all at once either. That’s when I realized my little girl, fortunately and unfortunately, has received so much of me through her genes. My guess is that she’s probably a bit anxious and possibly a perfectionist – character traits that will help her be ambitious, yet make Mariah her own toughest critic.
The ambition was clear just a few days later when Mariah’s amazing motor skills emerged. At 1 week old, we learned that she preferred side sleeping when she began to independently do half rolls. Around the same time, she also began using her arms and her emerging neck control to push her head off our shoulders when we carried her upright, for a second or two. At 3 weeks she expanded this skill by pushing her head up when she was on a flat surface. Towards the end of her first month, she began attempts at ‘talking’/babbling and smiling at us, in a more interactive, and less random way. Since she was still tiny enough, I got her to do the newborn swimming experiment in our bathtub. I had probably learned about this as a teenager and decided that I would definitely try when I eventually had a baby. Basically, if you blow in baby’s face to trigger their breath-holding reflex and then dunk them in water in a swimming position for a few seconds, they will instinctively swim – eyes open, legs kicking, arms paddling, the works! The funny part was that when she cried a bit afterward, I cuddled her and apologized, saying ‘never again, baby’. Yet, when Ivan exclaimed ‘that was so cool, wanna try it again?!?’, I replied ‘yeah!’
At 2 months, Mariah’s development became more observational. She discovered her hands and enjoyed staring at them for entertainment. Although we tried to avoid giving her a soother/pacifier for the first couple of months, we finally gave in and it became my, I mean ‘her’, new best friend! Around this time she traded in her spitting up for excessive drooling (which is still one of her favourite hobbies). Her talking increased both in volume and variety – she started making new sounds and even chatting away to herself sometimes. At 10 weeks, she started giving me clear signs when she was sleepy – playing with her hair with one hand and staring at the other in front of her face while mumbling self-soothing sounds.
Just when I thought she was becoming a little me, with all her chattiness, the 3 month mark showed a new side of Mariah. She still has her talkative moments, but she’s also become more of a listener like her dad - quiet, observant, and intrigued by the world around her. She seems more mature to me these days – like she’s now an active participant in her life. Whereas she used to seem oblivious to outings, she now enjoys the change of scenery yet still gives me a ‘home sweet home’ sigh when we return. She’s just started to giggle and did her first full roll yesterday.
Her temperament has always been quite calm and easy to settle. She rarely cries, and when she does it’s for a good reason, like when she’s in the midst of a growth spurt. She feeds about every 3 hours, and at night she usually sleeps well in between, which means I’m lucky to get more sleep than the average new mom. I’m also lucky that Mariah generally doesn’t mind being passed from person to person – we have big families, so she really has no choice! In terms of features, she arrived looking exactly like her dad (apparently there’s a theory that this happened so cavemen daddies would know their baby was their own…since I think cavemen pre-dated Maury's DNA tests). I would like to argue that she now has features from both sides – mommy’s eyes, daddy’s nose, uncle Gav’s big pouty bottom lip, grandma Maria’s diamond chin. Her hair is usually straight, but when it’s wet after a bath, I see tons of curls.
From all of these observations, I predict that Mariah is going to be a beautiful, smart, and talented girl. Do I sound like every new mom yet? Okay, I’ll narrow it down a bit. I think her advanced motor skills are a sign that she will be a good dancer and athlete (preferably a soccer player to fit family tradition, but I’ll try to let her decide). Her chattiness and listening skills tell me that she will be a good friend. Mariah’s focused ability to protest tells me she knows what she wants, and may be a bit stubborn. Mariah's perfectionism tells me she's a self-motivated go-getter. And the rest – I suppose I’ll await the surprise.
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