Tooth #4 is out!

Finally - after five days and nights of an episodically unhappy little baby, the fourth tooth has emerged. Rebecca is also 8 months old today. I'm having difficulty accepting how quickly time is passing, but I suppose that is simply the nature of things. When I was small, a half hour seemed like an eternity. Now, it goes by in a heartbeat. Of course, if they were selling free half hours, I would be at the front of the line with a handful of cash. I have no time.
I used to have a handheld electronic game. In this game, you are working in a greenhouse, trying desperately to safeguard your plants against herbivorous insects. The longer you play, the faster and more numerous the insects. You are armed with a can of DDT (uh oh) and must spritz the caterpillars once and the spiders twice (of course). No matter how proficient you become, ultimately, you will reach a point of failure because there is just too much going on. Of course, that's what makes the game exciting - just before you capitulate, you feel like you are operating at your maximum ability. Hmmm. I am not trying to say that I am about to lose my greenhouse plants. My point is something more along the lines of - being surprised by how far you can stretch and recover (do not try this with a metal slinky).

Rebecca's standing trick

Rebecca: Social Butterfly

Triple Projectile Vomit in Fitmom class

No, it isn't all roses and sunshine in Mommyland.
Sometimes your baby covers you in hot, foul, colourful vomit when you are wearing shorts and a tank top designed to wick up moisture. Sometimes you have to return home with a bag full of puke drenched baby wipes. Sometimes you have to go allow that same spew-machine devour 9 oz of formula in one sitting even if you may be simply refueling the barf engine.
But she's asleep at the end of the car ride. You can pick her up and carry her to her bed, and the whole way, she snuggles into you and holds on as if you are the entire world.

Right upper central incisor

A night of pure hell yielded the long-anticipated right upper central incisor. The left is close behind.

High mobility

Rebecca is a baby on the move! Basically, she can go wherever she wants at unsettling speed (usually towards an item which is not baby friendly). Last week she began pulling herself up to standing using whatever is at hand (a couch, a playpen, me). I have a feeling that she will walk early, just like I did. I walked at 9 months... that's not too far away. I'm not ready!
Sleep continues to be a problem, but Greg and I have agreed to crack down on Becca. It's hard when she is clearly teething, but... sleep deprivation is a strong motivator. I can see the whiteness of the new teeth just below the gum, but nothing has broken through yet. I give it a handful of days, and then we'll have a baby with upper and lower teeth (all the better to bite with).
Anyhow, back to the sleep question... step 1 is re-eliminating night feeding. No more feeding after midnight (she's like Gizmo that way). There are enough madcap adventures around here as it is. That's not too bad. And no picking up the baby - very hard. Actually, to be honest, she will sleep decent amounts of time, and nap very well, it's just that she doesn't want to adopt a reasonable time of day to do these things. I think that is the chief problem. She's a night owl by nature and it's hard to make her change her natural inclinations. Nevertheless, it is also hard to gleefully play with Rebecca in the wee hours of the morning. So, she will just have to adapt (gradually and gently of course).

Scary developments

This week (so far), Rebecca has both successfully crawled and sat up on her own.
I am scared. There are still boxes and junk everywhere.
The crawling... well, she only mastered the arms because she was reaching for something. She hasn't reproduced it yet, but Greg thinks it should still count. Not that she doesn't already get everywhere she wants by rolling and inching. She decides she wants something and then away she goes! Unfortunately, because of her interest in things that hang and dangle (hair, curtains, jewelry etc.), this means that when the breeze blows the curtains on her window, she attempts to escape from the change table - no matter what the diaper situation may be, via attempts at contortions over the edge of the table.
The sitting up I discovered when I went to fetch a crying Becca from her room. I walked in and discovered a cranky baby sitting in the middle of her bed. Uh oh. This particular feat has subsequently been demonstrated for me by Rebecca (and this is the part that is cause for concern). When she wants to sit up, she: (1) rolls onto her belly, (2) assume the crawling start position (all fours), (3) raises her ass in the air and fully or almost fully extends her legs, (4) walks her hands back towards her feet, (5) eases her butt down onto the ground, using her hands to support her. As Greg pointed out, this is very close to manoeuvers required for the w-word. Ack! She also has a few other sitting up methods - one involving pushing herself up with one hand from lying on her side, and the other involving pulling herself up using (1) my clothes, (2) immobile objects.
Finally, Rebecca used to be a good sleeper. Actually, when it comes to naps, she is still an excellent sleeper. But now, we are encountering major night time issues (only at bedtime!!!) that seem to stem from separation anxiety (from me in particular). She hasn't really bonded to anything but her blankie, but this bonding seems to be more of a "getting to sleep" type bonding, and not a "semi-adequate replacement for Mommy" type bonding. She is clearly tired, giving all her tired cues, but she fights off sleep and is quite distressed if I leave her. Why she isn't upset at nap time is beyond me. On top of this, there is still teething to deal with and big changes like the house, and trying new foods. All this to say, it has been very challenging lately. Once she does get to sleep, she can still go for 7 or 8 hours. But the thing is, at this age, she should get 11-12 with no interruptions, easy peasy.
I almost forgot - Becca has discovered that the famous "baby in the mirror" of whom she is so enamoured, also lives in the glass on the fireplace. Phew.
Well, I can hear the pounding on the crib, so nap time must be finished.