life with a new baby
Inquisitive Chompers
Feb 8th
So the other day, I talked about Nathan and his mobility.
I like that he’s getting himself around now, but at the same time, his mobility has presented me with new stressors. I constantly have to keep an eye on him because he gets into anything and everything. I just say, “Not for Nathan” and will redirect him to another toy or activity. But sometimes, he evades my watchful eye.
Once, I looked down, and he had somehow managed to find a GIANT, MAN-EATING BALL OF LINT AND HAIR. My hair. And the cats’ hair. And my hair is long, so this giant lint-ball had wisps of long hair floating out from it along with stiff strands of cat fur poking out from every angle.
And Nathan had it IN HIS MOUTH.
I’m still not sure where he found it… I vacuum every day so it most certainly wasn’t off the floor. I think he may have dug his little fingers into one of the creases in the recliner and pulled this disgusting anomaly from the dark depths of Recliner Abyss.
You know, the place where you find crumbs from the pizza you had that one day. Or fingernail clippings. Or any other gross thing you can think of that you DON’T want in your baby’s inquisitive taster.
Ugh. Just the thought of that gross wad of slobber, lint, hair, and fur gives me the shivers.
How do babies do it? They find it all. Everything. I can get on my hands and knees and comb through the entire house and Nathan will still find THE ONE THING that I managed to miss and chomp on it.
Nathan and his inquisitive chompers are constantly on the prowl, seeming to look for the most grossified stuff to chew on.
But what really gets me is that it doesn’t even phase Nathan. It doesn’t seem to bother him when there are STRANDS MOMMY’S HAIR IN HIS MOUTH. Have you ever had a strand of hair get into your mouth? I have, and it drives me crazy every time!
An aversion to hair in your mouth must be a learned behavior. Oh, I cannot wait until Nathan learns NOT to like it!
What’s so Funny?
Feb 6th
Every so often, something I say or do will trigger a laughing fit from Nathan. Once, it was every time I said the word happy. For hours, every time I would say the word happy, he would erupt into a laughing fit. Another time, it was puffing my cheeks up with air. And yet another time, it was making croaking noises. (Yes, I admit it… I croaked at my son a few times. Hey, ya do what ya gotta do, right? Whatever makes the little guy laugh. Or helps him eat his sweet peas.) Well, this time, he likes the “Z” sound, like “zipper” or just simply “zzzzz!” And for hours, every time I would say the zzz sound, he would laugh.
Now, not so much. I think I said “zzz” one too many times in an attempt to get him to laugh when he was in the middle of telling me in no uncertain terms that he did NOT WANT GREEN BEANS TODAY, THANKYOUVERYMUCH. He would protest whatever I was feeding him for dinner, and I would “zzzzz” enough to elicit an open-mouthed laugh and whoosh! In would swoop the spoon of sweet potatoes or carrots or whatever his persnickety little taste buds were boycotting that day.
I’m always looking for ways to make Nathan laugh. There is just something about the way his eyes light up that keeps me on a constant quest for laugh-inducing antics.
Plus, it makes great entertainment. Admit it. It’s freaking hilarious to watch a baby crack up over the littlest things.
The Swiveling Head
Feb 3rd
Well, guess what Nathan did today?
No, it wasn’t a Mega Poop. And no, he didn’t fall asleep standing up again.
Ok, since the possibilities are endless, I’ll just tell you.
He was on his belly, scooting around the living room floor. Drool was flying everywhere and his hands and feet were spinning and whacking the air so feverishly that they became a blur. I could practically hear the air whistle as his limbs sliced through it. All of a sudden, he stopped, raised himself up to all fours and after rocking back and forth a couple times, he pushed himself up into the sitting position!
For the first time in his life, my little boy didn’t need my assistance to go from laying down to sitting up!
I’m so happy right now!!
See, he’s not started actually crawling with his tummy off the floor just yet. He crawls backwards though. And he rolls around from front to back all over the place. He also does the Army Crawl, and recently, he started doing half Army Crawl, half Lurch. And he’ll get up on all fours and rock back and forth. But no crawling.
If you’re a parent, then I’m sure you can understand when I say that his lack of mobility had me worried. When he was nine months old and still not crawling, I started obsessing over it. After all, I thought ALL babies crawled by nine months.
So I got on the Internet and worried myself to death by researching what other nine-month-olds were doing. I watched You Tube Videos. I cried. I wrung my hands. I obsessed over why he wasn’t like other babies, and I worried ceaselessly.
I worried so much that I lost sleep at night.
But then his pediatrician said that some babies completely skip crawling and go straight to walking. But he thinks that Nathan is simply choosing not to crawl. Because, get this, he would rather Mommy pick him up and CARRY HIM AROUND. So I quit carrying him around whenever Nathan cried for me to. Now, Nathan plays on the floor and if he wants a toy that’s out of his reach, I gently encourage him to go get it himself. If he cries when I walk away, I tell him to come to me.
And he tries.
He may not be crawling yet, but he is zipping around all over the place.
And he loves to stand. He can’t stand on his own yet or pull himself up, but he can hold onto furniture and keep his balance. And it’s precious watching him because he just looks so proud of himself. He’s all smiles and his head swivels around like that of an owl, trying to take in every single new detail he can obtain from this new height.
Sometimes he looks around so much that it seems like his head is going to just SWIVEL RIGHT OFF.
But his head is still attached. Miraculously, considering the amount of swiveling it does on a daily basis…
Recent Comments
Cool, thanks for the info. And I agree... Dr. Internet must be ignored... I don't need all that anxiety!
Aw, yay for Nathan. Just for future reference, if you have developmental concerns, you can always look up your local Early ...
I know, right? It's so exciting!
Now let the REAL fun begin! .-= Jane´s last blog ..Help Me Keep Oil In The Lamp =-.