One of my wonderful (and much loved!) aunts got him this exersaucer, and Nathan has been practically addicted to it ever since he first sat in it. This kid has always loved playing in it. A while back, I thought that I would retire it. But I don’t have the heart to take it away from him just yet. Why not let the little fella enjoy it just a little bit longer?

This is probably one of the last times I’ll have Nathan in his exersaucer, which is yet another bittersweet time for me. He’s been playing in it since he was about five months old, and it has been like a life savor so many times. Whenever Nathan was grumpy, the exersaucer would cheer him up. Whenever I needed a shower, I could just plop him into the exersaucer and he would be content. He loved spinning around in the seat, exploring all the toys, and studying all the colors and textures. But now? Now, my little boy is growing up and is almost too big for it anymore. He can still enjoy it for a bit longer, but he’s starting to get too tall for it.

I can’t believe I got attached to it myself. There are so many memories… I look at it, and I think of all the times Nathan played in it. I remember him being so little that even when the exersaucer was on the shortest setting, his toes barely touched the ground. At first, I could only have him in the exersaucer when I was sitting right beside him because he would just flop forward and backward. But it gave him great exercise, and he was soon strong enough to play without me hovering.

Ah, it’s always a bit sad when your child finally outgrows something that he used for so long!

In the meantime, I have a super-cute video of him in his new door bouncer we got him this weekend. I think the exersaucer has met its match. As soon as I put Nathan in the new bouncer, he immediately started bouncing around like a totally ecstatic little frog.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tvj0ocGbp8

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt3zP8TzaZs

The other day, I put Nathan in his exersaucer to play. I could hear him banging away at the toys on the tray and talking to the different pieces. After a few minutes, however, all noises coming from his bedroom ceased. I peeked in to see what he had gotten into when I saw that he had fallen asleep while standing up in his exersaucer!

He took a quick, 10 minute catnap. When he woke up, he was refreshed and giddy with Good Mood. Good Mood is a great thing for a baby to have, believe me.

He seriously loves that exersaucer. I think he would totally live inside it if he could. And I’m happy with that because he’s learning all kinds of things… shapes, sounds, textures, etc. 

And a happy baby means a happy house.

For those of you who missed the first exersaucer post, click here to read about it. For me, the exersaucer is one of the best baby inventions known to man. Well, that and the baby swing. I think I would just shrivel up and die a slow and relatively painful death without them. That, or I would lose my sanity in three and a half days flat, resulting in me being confined to a padded room because the swing and the exersaucer keep Nathan entertained and happy.

We all know how important that is because when Nathan is not entertained or happy, you’d think the world was on the verge of total collapse.

What’s neat about the exersaucer is that as Nathan gets older, he learns new ways to play with the brightly colored and textured toys. He studies them even more diligently now, concentrating on figuring out how they operate. He’s playing in it for longer periods at a time, too, which provides me with a wonderful and much-needed break. Sometimes he’ll bang away at the “sound” buttons for twenty minutes straight, cackling enthusiastically when they light up and play music.

I also like how the exersaucer has this mysterious ability to make Nathan poop. It seems like every time I put him in it, he poops.

There I go again, talking about poop. Having a baby does that do you. Seriously. Poop dominates my thoughts and most of my conversations. I even dream about poop now. Yes, you read that correctly… I dream about poop. Baby poop. Everywhere. The other night, I dreamed I lived in an igloo constructed entirely of constipated baby poop that smelled like bananas.

I’ll stop now…

However, he started out in a great mood this morning with a huge grin and scissor legs. We spent some time “talking” to each other for which I was rewarded with ton of happy, wet kisses. After feeding him, I put him in his exersaucer to play and that’s when he sprouted red horns.

He did not want his exersaucer. 

He rubbed his little eyes, looking at me imploringly through his tears. I picked him up and cuddled him, but that didn’t help. I was doomed. I made a mistake by putting him in the exersaucer, unaware that was not what my little dictator wanted to do. I couldn’t console him, so Paul played with him for a while. Then they sat together and watched Blue’s Clues, but that didn’t even make a difference. Nathan wanted to be a Grumpified Grumpy Grump and had absolutely no intentions on being anything else. I gave him some rice cereal, and the little guy was so tired with a full belly that he could barely hold his head up, so I laid him down for a nap.

Initially, he was content… for about two minutes… then all hell broke lose. That kid can scream like there’s no tomorrow.

Seriously.

He flails his pudgy little fists, chin quivering, feet kicking, socks flying off his feet like shrapnel as if I had hung him up by his ears or something. Fortunately, he’s not like this all the time. It’s usually once every few days. After today, he’ll be a sweet, happy, gurgling little angel for a few days until the cycle repeats itself. 

From one extreme to the other; that’s a baby for you.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4T5hCfN1Mg

Nathan is enthralled with his Baby Einstein Exersaucer. I love the thing. I don’t see how life can exist without it. 

When I need a  break to wash some dishes, Nathan will gladly play in his exersaucer for a while… at least until he notices that Mommy isn’t nearby.

He bangs around on all the toys, spit bubbles flying from his mouth, eyes darting around happily. He loves how the seat swivels, giving him access to all the toys… and he takes his time spinning around, playing with each and every one of them. He’ll stop and examine how some of the toys move, feel the different textures, and jab at all the “sound” buttons.

I absolutely love watching him play. The first few times we put him in his exersaucer, he just the sat there, his eyes opened as wide quarters. He didn’t know what to think or do… until we took his hands and showed him how to play with the toys. Ever since then, he’s been practicing these motor skills incessantly. Sometimes his eyes catch his fist wavering in front of his face and he’ll studiously examine it, slowly turning it around and sometimes flexing his fingers.

It’s neat to watch him progress and learn how to manipulate objects with his hands (and feet.)

He will be an quite an asset when I usurp the world.