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The Birth
Zander was born today. I used hypnobirthing to bring him into the world. Hypnobirthing is where you use meditation techniques to calm your body down and push the pain away (pp.90-91). This technique has shown evidence to work well. In addition it worked well for me, Zander came out in no time at all and I was happy as can be. -
Rooting Reflex
Today I noticed that Zander has a rooting reflex, as evidence by moving his head toward my hand when I touch his cheek. The rooting reflex is how a baby knows how to find food. They move their head toward the mothers hand after being touched in the face. The sucking reflex often follows when the baby is hungry (pp.123). These reflexes are very important for getting your baby fed. The rooting reflex usually goes away in about 3 weeks after birth but the sucking reflex remains. -
Motor Development
Today Zander was able to sit up on his own without support. He is 5.9 months old which is right on track for normal motor development (pp. 124-125). Gross Motor skills are movements that babies can make without precision. This includes walking, crawling, or pushing things. Gross motor skills are important for developing fine motor skills such as drawing or coordinating their movements better, like walking. -
Functional Play
Zander is 3 years old now. Today he was playing with his toys. He repetitively kept moving the car back and forth on the ground instead of going in circles or around other objects. Zander is displaying Functional play. Functional play is repetitive play that is simple and done without an end plan. (pp. 254.) For example, rolling a piece of clay back and forth without any means of making something. Zander did not have a plan for the car, only that it was meant to move back and forth. -
Metalinguistic awareness
Zander is 5 and a half years old now. He is now understanding his own language and becoming aware that language has a set of rules with it. He often gets confused by things teachers or friends explain but does not ask for clarification. This leads him to blame himself and later I help him understand what was being communicated. This concept is metalinguistic awareness, an awarenes of his own language (pp. 301). He will later ask for more clarification and have a better understanding of language. -
Fantasy Period
Zander is 10 years old and has quite the imagination. When we ask him what he wants to be when he grows up his answer changes from being a professional video game player to being president of the United States. This concept is called the fantasy period. Children usually outgrow this period around the age of 11 (pp. 396). These thoughts are given within seconds and are not usually thought through. He has not thought about how he would achieve being the president or a professional gamer. -
Puberty
Zander is now 12 years old and starting to ask questions. He is starting to grow hair in places that have not had hair previously. After he experienced his first spermarche he talked to his father about what this was and what was happening to his body. At this time his father told him that he was experiencing puberty and growing into a man. This included getting facial hair, pubic hair and experiencing some voice crackles as it deepened (pp.356). Zanders Father prepared him for what to expect ne
