December 02, 2009
Self Pacifying
On the one hand, the baby is settling into a familiar appearance, the adorable little meat-ball. On the other hand, he is still growing and making new surprises every day. Like when he sprouted a couple of baby teeth, which made for quite a surprise for the wife when he bit down while suckling. Nowadays he stuffs into his mouth anything he can get his hands on. We got him some silicone toys to chew on, which are a bit softer than hard plastic and easier to clean than the furry toys, but he seems to have more interest in random household items than pricey baby gear.
You know what they say about idle hands, and he's got nothing better to do than to reach out and grab at everything in sight. He especially likes to fish for mom's jade necklace, with its eye-catching silver chain and bright green stone. Otherwise the wife's long hair also makes for a fun handful to pull on. When it's me holding the baby, he doesn't have anything to grab on to, so he just waves the hands around to paw and squeeze at my face. He's got some strength in his hands now and his fingernails are sharp, very dangerous! When we sit him down in his high chair, he'll bat at his toy for a while, then quite deliberately hold it over the side and drop it to the floor for the clatter. Of course, we pick it up and give it back to him right away, so he doesn't learn any better. We'll definitely have to break him of that habit before we start setting food in front of him.
Mother's milk has been good enough to have him gain an average of a kilo a month since birth, and the wife almost took over the entire freezer with gallons of the stuff. But now her milk output is decreasing, and it's time for him to be a big boy now and try some other foods. Scrape apple or pear with a spoon, mash up a little banana or papaya, or blend up some rice gruel with spinach. He never quite know what's coming, so he gets excited and bends forward when he sees the shiny spoon incoming, and it takes a lot more coaxing from the nanny before he'll drink milk from the bottle now. But when it gets late and he's tired, he still likes his mommy best for a nightcap before he'll go to sleep.
As Sam said, "YMMV is a good way to describe developmental milestones." Through the grapevine we hear about other kids his age who are already crawling, standing, clapping, waving, and leaping tall buildings in a single bound. We're just happy that our baby finally figured out how to (laboriously) crawl forward, and still haven't taught him how to wave goodbye. Thought he had learned his name when he alertedly turned his head when we called him, but then we called out wife's name and he turned his head just as quick. At least he's figured out how to take a pacifier and stick it into his mouth the right way around, which is like a cognitive advancement in spatial awareness, albeit a limited special case.
On the good side, he's certainly not afraid of strangers. Grandma and the other old ladies in the park love him because he'll smile and play with all comers. Aunties and cousins can hold him and hug him and he won't fuss. He's a happy baby in general, laughing at all the silly things we do to amuse him. Most importantly, he smiles when he wakes up and sees me in the morning, and he'll smile and wave excitedly when I get home from work. He cries when I hold him while the wife's taking her bath, though. But that just means he's tired late in the evening and he wants mommy to put him to bed, not that he doesn't love daddy.