On advice from Brett, we have always splashed Riley in the bath, in an attempt to make sure that she is happy in the bath, and does not mind being splashed etc.
This seems to have worked quite well. Riley has been happy in the bath for quite a while now, shen I splash her she has never had a problem with it.
Now, she actually seems to expect it, and enjoys it, she just needs to cath her breath again after.
I am not sure how clear this will be, but the jist of the video is taking a face cloth with water, and letting it run out over Riley's body, moving up and over her face.
Today, after nearly 4 months, Riley got to taste her first teaspoon of Maize poridge. We expected quite a different reaction than what we got. She just seemed to love the taste and texture.
There was barely a grimace to start and she wolfed down the whole bowl.
After installing the new TV (temporarily) this afternoon, Riley, who loves TV, sat on my lap to watch. She is very good at supporting herself, though she can't sit upright, she does like to be supported like this. SHe does also manage on her own for short periods.
Riley has always had somewhat strange sleeping habits, but this is the strangest.
We put her down to sleep this afternoon with her dog as usual. When I went back a short while later, this was how she had gone to sleep. Bib over the face and dog in hand...
On Wednesday we bought Riley a "jolly jumper". I rember these from when Melanie was a baby - not that long ago :-).
She was not too sure about it at first, but seems to have taken to the freedom quite nicely.
This video clip shows her in the "jolly jumper" laughing very happily. The video is quite long, so might take some time to download the first time... Sorry about that.
Even babies occasionally have bad hair days. On Wednesday night Riley decided to have a very unusual fit when we tried to bath her. She just did not want to be in the bath at all, so after a very short stint, we took her out to calm her.
There was not even time to finish washing her hair and brushing it later just did not help, so Thursday turned out to be a "bad hair day". Even though Riley was quite happy, and actually in very good spirits, her hair was unruly to say the least.
She also has this little curl on the top of her head that does not lie down for anything, even though it gets brushed down after her bath, next morning it stands up again.
Riley is really making good progress towards being able to sit. She is very strong.
She can occasionally support herself to sit for short periods as well. The balance is not always that great and she does tend to topple forward, but people are often amazed at how strong she is.
The other day, Riley was again not feeling well, she seemed to have a sore throat again, so was battling to feed.
Claudia decided to grab an opportunity to get here a bottle while she was distracted - hence the feed on the breakfast table in the kitchen. Definitely not the most elegant feeding spot but at least she got the bottle down.
This week-end we have had the family in Ballito. Chris and Stacie drove down from Johannesburg, and Grandpa and Grannie Annie from Ficksburg.
