The eighteenth week

Madeline continues to impress us with her increasing mobility and engagement. This week we've noticed that she'll turn her head in the direction of specific sounds, such as our voices. She'll also watch objects by moving her entire head rather than just following them with her eyes. It's fun to get near her without drawing notice, and then say her name and watch her turn quickly toward me and smile.

She's also pushing up more when she's on her tummy. She can get her entire chest off the ground now, and looks around with purpose rather than in the random manner of someone unable to fully control their head. (Compare the photo above to this one from a few months ago.)

As for her sleeping, we had to discount several days this week. She received some immunizations on Monday and she was pretty grumpy for a couple days afterward. She was out of sorts during the day and reverted to crying for long periods at bedtime. But in the last couple days she's been much better - she's more cheerful during the day, she's taking better naps and she's going to sleep more quickly at night. She's also slept until after 6 a.m. on several occasions, making for 8-plus hour nights.