One Year of Office Baby

Okay, more like six months worth, but I think it's the right time to share.

Mom resumed working out with a personal trainer a few months after Elora was born. For two hours on the occasional Monday afternoon, Elora would stay with me in my office.

This worked out well at first. Elora would usually sleep, or if not sleeping, could be convinced to sleep with some rocking in the carseat. Even better, anyone looking to argue with me could be immediately deterred with an exclamation of "Shhhh! The baaaaaby is sleeeeeping!" Later, sleep was more elusive, but with alertness came amusement, with our favorite past-time, tester-kicking.

Was Office Baby a good idea? Well, yes and no. Realistically, its two hours written off in the workday; I could occasionally get her to sleep while I worked, but not dependably. Once I gave up the idea of doing productive work, it was an enjoyable experience. We had some wonderful times at the office, and reactions from my coworkers to seeing the baby in the office varied from neutral to overjoyed.

At nine months, Office Baby is going on hiatus. In part because her newly discovered mobility and fascination with electronics has made it hard to protect computer off buttons. But mostly because a potential home relocation may change when and where Mom is working out. Still, I look forward to the debut of Office Kid in a few years.

Approximately three months in. This time I did not win the sleep battle, but she was happy being at the office with Daddy.

A week later, total victory. Two solid hours asleep in the office.

Four and a half months. Now holding toys!

Seven months, and already contributing to the team!

Later, sleep time requires extensive carseat rocking.

Seven and a half months. She is now capable of exploring the office; I've come up with a system of filing cabinets, chairs, and the carseat to limit Elora's access to the computers.

Eight months. She loves keyboards so much. 

Nine months.

Nine Month Checkup

First doctor's visit not requiring shots (though one year they return with a vengeance). Still perfectly healthy, and trending well on all the key stats.

Weight: 17lb 12oz (25-50%)
Height: 27 3/4" (50-75%)
Head Circumference: 17 1/4" (25-50%)

Mastered:
Mobility! Elora is now indisputably fully mobile. Crawls from hands and knees with ease, sit and roll as desired, and can reach just about any destination she desires. She can also pull herself up to standing, and follow a surface while standing (commonly known as 'cruising'). Strangely, she can only cruise to the left, so when she runs out of surface to cruise, she has to drop back to crawling to return to the right side of the surface
Food! Still not a single teeth, but she'll eat anything, from Cheerios, to avocado, to banana, or even small pieces of meat. Purees and baby foods are for suckers when there's grilled cheese to be had.

Starting:
Standing. She can walk upright while supported, but has just started working on standing unassisted. She can stand for several seconds unsupported, and even got to a standing position on her own once.
Stairs. If there's a toy up a few stairs, she will climb them.

Elora now firmly embraces toys. Some of her favorites include the music play table, the bead necklace, and the kitty piano. However, she is keenly aware that the adults have the better toys, and will give up her meager possessions in an instant for a chance to get hold of any electronic device, from iPhones to TV remotes.

Cheerios are lame. Ribs are like pacifiers baked inside a meat cookie.

 

 

This toy box allows me to play at maximum efficiency.