The Number Field

Elena is going through different phases in her vocal development at a rapid rate. Early last week, she was constantly making a harsh aaahhh-aaahhh sound. By Thursday and Friday she had moved on to non-stop raspberries. Now she has ceased with the raspberries and is instead babbling away, practicing with different consonant and vowel sounds. Sometimes she talks quietly to herself, while at other times it seems like she's imitating us when we talk to her. I'm astonished at how quickly different ways of making noise enter and then leave her repertoire.

In just two days Elena will be five months old, and the baby books say that this is a period of especially rapid development. This week we've made some changes to her eating and sleeping schedules. She seems to be adapting very well. We like it too, because we're putting her to bed earlier and she still sleeps through the night.