Sunday Salon - September 21

Wow, it has been 1 1/2 months since my last Sunday Salon post! I love blogging, and reading what my blogging friends are up to, but I found I just needed a break for a while. In retrospect, I think it was the craziness of the last few months finally getting to me: moving, unpacking, adjusting to hubby's new schedule (and the fact that most days he leaves for work before Maya gets up, and returns after she goes to bed), and beginning to chase after my little bub who started crawling, and is now close to walking. 

We have also been plagued by Maya's unwillingness to eat solids, and her slow weight gain and drop from her growth pattern (already on the smal

l side, in the 3rd-5th percentiles), which has spurred v

isits to a gastroenterologist, and a host of blood work and other tests. Her pediatrician diagnosed her as failure to thrive, "not because I believe she is, but I need a diagnosis number for insurance purposes". In all other ways she is thriving, but seeing FTT on paper just makes me feel ill. So far, all of the test results have come back fine, and my gut feeling is that nothing is wrong medically, especially since she meets all the milestones far in advance. She just isn't all that interested in food. We will be going to a speech pathologist that does feeding therapy, I'm really hoping that helps more than our meeting with a nutritionist, who failed to tell me anything I didn't already know.

In all other ways, Maya is a happy, healthy 9-month old baby. She has been crawling since June, and currently her favorite activity is cruising around with her Brio walker wagon. In the last few days, she has been briefly standing on her own, so it looks like walking is in our near future! She says a few words now..."ma ma", "da da", and "ne ne" when she wants to nurse. She has also learned the "milk" sign I use to ask her if she wants to nurse. And she has finally learned how to go both up and down a step, so I don't have to worry as much about the step between our living and dining room. And, her toothless grin is almost gone! She has two budding lower teeth, with one ready to erupt any day.

With all of that going on (how I digress from books!), I haven't had as much time to read as I usually do. I have finished a few books in the last two months: Independent People by Haldor Laxness, Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella, The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, You are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin, Sing Through the Day, compiled by Marlys Singer, and House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. All of those reviews will be forthcoming throughout the next week or two.

And now, having finished House of Leaves yesterday, I am having a hard time deciding what to pick up next. I could read Remember Me, by Sophie Kinsella, my mom's book group pick for this month. Although I like Sophie Kinsella, I'm not expecting the book to generate much discussion, and having just read one of the Shopaholic books, I'm not as inclined to pick this one up. I also have The Blue Jay's Dance by Louise Erdrich on my TBR pile, but I don't know if I'm in the right mood for non-fiction. What I really want to read next is the second book in Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy...but my hold isn't available at the library yet. More than likely I will be picking up something small and quick, an Agatha Christie or Barbara Pym book, to tide me over until The Hollow Hills is available at the library.

Happy Sunday, fellow Saloners!