Reach and GRAB

Since sitting became official a couple of weeks ago, Ivy has suddenly 'got' reaching and grabbing. I don't know if these two motor skills are at all related (probably not as I know non-sitting babies who are good at grabbing), but she figured them out simultaneously. Previously, Ivy would reach (not very far) for something she was interested in, and as soon as her fingers touched something (often her other hand) she would bring her hands straight to her mouth. Suddenly, she is reaching at arms length, even leaning her whole body, successfully grabbing what she aimed for and happily tasting it. This also means she is now interested in her toys for longer than a few seconds. It must have been frustrating (and boring) for her to just look at stuff, not be able to touch it, and then taste her own hands again. We bought her a couple of wooden teething toys that she can easily handle, to give our knuckles a break from being gnawed on.



After Kwojo and I have eaten, Ivy likes to sit on my lap and chew on my empty plate or the edge of the table. I'm looking forward to starting baby-led weaning at the end of this month! She loves the apple juice carton (yet is uninterested in the grape juice carton which is a slightly different shade of green) but it is such an awkward shape for baby hands to grab. She gets excited when she sees it, flailing her arms, reaching for it, and making a little beak shape with her mouth. She is also very interested in mugs, and watches closely as we lift them to our mouths. She is clearly not ready for tea or coffee yet though.

Suddenly she is trying to reach and grab everything, not just her colourful toys. Nothing (within her arm length) is safe! Not even my face (owch). She is especially interested in grabbing the camera, see?





Kwojo's phone looks pretty desirable to those chubby little hands too.



Ivy is yet to learn the difference between 2d and 3d, so she tries to grab things that can't be grabbed - pictures in books, patterns on clothes, the baby in the mirror. And things that are too big to be grabbed, like the sofa and printer. Things that can but shouldn't be grabbed... my face.