I have a few more goofy Sydney stories that I thought I'd share while I have the opportunity to tell them. I suspect that most are probably something you would have to see to appreciate, but I'll try to describe them as best I can.
Spastic Leg
One of Sydney's odder habits involves kicking a leg while she’s being fed. If Meghan is feeding her with her laying on her left side, her right leg will kick rhythmically in the air. It kind of makes you think of a dog’s leg when you scratch just that right spot. Flip her over and the other leg does it. It just randomly starts and stops.
Early on, Meghan about got kicked in the face by this phenomenon.
Little Animal
Having observed a baby now for a few months (not quite 5), I’ve decided that the assertion that humans are not animals is even more ridiculous if you’ve ever seen a baby. Indulge me.
Have you ever seen a baby bird cheep and open its mouth upward when it knows its mother is about to feed it?
Sydney does that too! If a bottle or a nipple is near, the mouth is wide open and the eyes are eager.
Ever learn the lesson that if you put your fingers near an animal’s mouth, you’ll get bit?
Sydney bites! From birth she would bite at anything near her mouth. Actually early on she would strike at/snap at a finger near her mouth. In fact early on she would get this obsessed look and her head would shake from side to side before she snapped at something. Now that’s changed slightly and the mission is to use her hands to direct anything into her mouth. She’ll grab your fingers… hold on, and then lean her head forward to get them in her mouth. Fortunately she doesn’t have any teeth yet.
Ever hear an owl or a frog make a rhythmic noise?
Earlier tonight, Sydney could have been an owl. In fact had we just gone to the zoo and saw a bunch of birds it would have been conceivable that she was imitating an owl. Unfortunately she don’t know what an owl is let alone the sound an owl makes. …but she still can make the sound ...over and over and over.
Unguided Pacifier
So we’ve been learning to use our hands and getting pretty good at it. Sydney now grabs and shakes toys. Occasionally though she can’t quite do something or has some lapses in concentration that are just downright hysterical.
For instance, occasionally while shaking a rattle she’ll whack herself in the head, get this annoyed look, and repeat. Fortunately she’s doesn't seem particularly bothered by it.
Usually when playing with the same rattle, she’ll decide it’s time to stick her hand in her mouth… but forget to drop the rattle. This gives the appearance of a baby trying to insert a 5” rattle into her mouth sideways. She gets this seriously look and tries to push her hand into her mouth while it’s wrapped around the rattle which is hitting her cheeks, chin, nose, etc. This is very funny to watch.
Tonight, Sydney was trying to put a pacifier in her own mouth. I wanted to get this on film but figured she’d stop if I pulled out the camera. Now before I continue, I will say that she’s really progressed since a month ago when it would have hit her chin, forehead, etc. But as we discovered, she’s got a ways to go yet on hand control. She hasn’t got the rotation of objects down so each time she would get close, the pacifier would be pointing the wrong way. She kept brining it toward her mouth, opening her mouth, failing to get it in, extending her arm and trying again. Because she was holding it by the handle, it kept flopping back and forth though so each attempt was a little different. Some of the times she tried using a second hand, but that didn’t really work either. To us, this saga of repeated attempts seemed to go on forever. She must have tried 20 times. Eventually we just did it for her, but it was so cute to watch and we just kept rooting for her to get it.