Month: May 2014

The quint’s 9-month celebration warrants yet another series to look at where each of the V5 are today! In three short months they have become not only more verbal, social and mobile, but also more strategic, witty and goofy!

Key priorities for mom and dad are to continue to help these kiddos:

• Learn to crawl.
• Hold their own bottles.
• Eat soft, solid foods.
• Learn to communicate with simple words and sign language.

Let’s Get Moving!

There are several gross motor milestones that precede crawling that help to build the body’s strength and coordination, including:

• Holding one’s head in line and upright when pulled to sitting (3-6 months)
• Bears weight on hands when lying on tummy (3-6 months)
• Ability to sit with light support (3-6 months)
• Rolling from stomach to back and back to stomach in both directions (3-6 months)
• Sitting independently with the ability to right one’s balance and extend arms for protection (6-9 months)
• Able to get into a sitting position independently (6-9 months)
• Standing when holding on (6-9 months)
• Crawls backward (6-9 months)
• Able to pull to a standing position (6-9 months)

No one is crawling just yet, but all of the quints are able to sit up in some capacity, crawl backwards (or scoot), stand when being held and roll. While some say that some children do not crawl, or crawl for very long, we hope that ours do because of all the benefits of crawling:

• Develops a sense of depth perception and location along with skills on how to navigate the environment.
• Encourages decision making, focus and attention.
• Requires that a baby connect a series of motions and increases coordination.
• Develops muscular strength and stretches ligaments in the wrist and hands needed for fine motor skills.

Look what I can do!

While all of the quints are between a 6-9 month year old in terms of their gross motor skills, they are championing their fine motor skills! They can reach and hold large and small objects. They are able to manipulate objects in one hand and both hands. Lily has been mastered the pincer grasp! Other’s are still working on getting their pointer finger away from their hand; but all can now extend their thumb from their fingers! This skillset is critical for not only playing with more complex toys, but eating!

We are preparing to start finger foods! The only delay is mom’s fear of the impending mess that awaits after every meal. Arts and crafts time is about to get very real as we start to experiment with:

• Soft Bananas
• Cooked Carrots
• Meatballs
• Oat-based cold cereals

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Our five little monkeys are now keen observers. Many of our friends and family have noted how the kids what their every move. They are also much more social and communicative. We catch them “chatting” not only with each other but with their toys. We are also proud that their expressive communication and cognitive skills are tracking with their age:

Expressive Communication:

• Babbles to people with inflection and produces a variety of consonants.
• Vocalizes loudly to get attention.

Language Comprehension:

• Looks and focuses on people, pictures and pets.
• Responds to simple gestures.
• Looks for family members when named (we are still working on this one).

Cognitive Skills:

• Works to obtain items out of reach, and able to locate a hidden object.
• Plays 2-3 minutes with one toy.
• Touches a toy or adult to restart an activity.

Their social skills also surpass their age. They have long been able to recognize mom and dad, as well as, who is new (or a stranger). However, now all of them either calm easy when mom or dad are out of the room, or are completely content. They also all smile at images in a mirror- needless to say- Theo and Bella love themselves some mirror-time!

We also have been working on simple sign language for about the last 3-4 months. No one is able to sign back just yet, but I do believe they are beginning to connect the signs with the objects. The signs we have started with are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have been using their signed letters for their names:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am still amazed everyday at how learning can be a very independent process, and how we naturally develop all of these skills given that we have a safe, conducive environment to do so. I often feel like our little blessings teach me much more than I will ever teach them. I am so grateful for the new and maturing fruits in my life (patience, flexibility, changing priorities, appreciating each moment) that they continue to encourage with each day.

In the coming days, we hope you enjoy each quint’s individual snapshot!

*ASL images are from BabySignLanguage.com