Tummy time is a lot of work. It requires a lot of effort and it gets kind of hot exerting all that energy. So, sometimes it feels better to do tummy time topless. It also gives you all the opportunity to admire my muscles! Those rolls and crease in my arms are muscles, right? Hmmm? What’s that? Baby fat? Okay then. Admire my baby fat!
Daddy seems to be waiting eagerly for the day I can talk to him. We have our daily chats in my Daddy chair, where I participate in the conversation by making a variety of noises at the right conversation intervals. But sometimes that is not enough for Daddy, and he wants me to actually speak words to him. So that’s where the ventriloquism comes in.
I woke up at 6 this morning in a pretty good mood. I wasn’t hungry or sad or anything when I woke up. I just needed to burp. So I called Daddy. I have gotten pretty good about not crying for any old reason. In the middle of the night, if I need Mommy or Daddy I just call for them. If I’m hungry, it is a desperate cooing. If it is a diaper change it is a short “wah”. If I need a burp, it is a repeated “ehr”.
So Daddy got up when I called for him and saw that my eyes were wide open. He picked me up, bounced me a little and I burped. He checked my diaper and saw that I also needed a change, so he took care of that as well. But when he picked me up to rock me back to sleep he saw that I wasn’t sleepy as I usually am. My eyes were still wide open. It was 6 a.m. so there was nothing wrong with me being awake, so he put me on my play mat. I spent some time there playing.
But before long, I realized that I was not ready to be awake, so I started telling Daddy that I wanted to be picked up with an “nn, nn, nn”. And once he picked me up I settled into my tree frog position and quickly fell asleep. So I was a temporary early riser.
Ugh. Daddy turned me into a merman. As you can see, I’m not really into this look. But oddly, I did not kick off the towel as I normally do. I don’t want to be a merman, but I must admit that the towel does make me look tall, slim, and trim. Hmmm. Not that I want to be a merman, but I do make a very pretty merman.
I can be cranky when I wake up. I like my sleep and don’t like to be roused from it. It’s not like anyone is actively waking me up. I just wake up on my own because I’m hungry. Which is usually every 3 hours or so. But sometimes I have a really nice long deep sleep, often when napping on Mommy or Daddy. After those naps, which can go beyond 4 hours, I wake up in a really bad mood. I normally wake up cranky. I am very aggressive when I’m hungry. So imagine what I’m like when I wake up really hungry. There is a lot of crying, snorting, rubbing of my face, kicking, punching, and rooting for milk. It is not a pretty sight.
Sometimes lying on my mat or being carried gets old. I look at Mommy and Daddy and they rarely lie down on a mat. If they do, it is to talk/play/read to me. And I never see them get carried either. They do this thing called “sitting”. I want to do that. But unfortunately, I can’t hold my head up on my own yet. So, if I sat in a chair, I would get a sore neck or simply topple over. That’s why I enjoy sitting in my Daddy chair. Daddy sits on the floor with his back against the couch, and makes a nice little chair for me that supports my head. I can look around and get a new perspective of the world. I often spend my Daddy chair time just chatting with Daddy, which is a lot of fun! So while I work on holding my head up on my own, I always have my Daddy chair to provide me with sitting comfort.
Look at my wrist in that picture! Ouch! But, actually, NOT ouch. It doesn’t hurt at all. Sure, it’s at a weird angle, but I have very flexible joints. I assume all babies do. That’s how we all fit in our mommies’ tummies. Even out in the real world, it pays to be flexible.
I’ve been more grabby lately. I grab onto things when they come near my hand. So when Mommy or Daddy is carrying me, I often grab onto their clothes. They seem to like it. It makes them feel needed, I guess.
What they don’t like is when I pinch. It is still a grab, but in a more sensitive location. For Daddy, I often accidentally grab that bit of skin right where his armpit meets his chest. It is loose enough for me to get a really good grip and sensitive enough to cause Daddy to yelp. Don’t believe me? Test it out yourself. Pinch and pull. Hurts, doesn’t it? Now imagine it being pinch by tiny, but vise-like, chubby fingers operated by a baby boy who doesn’t know his own strength. Ouch!
I think this is called a love seat. Probably originally intended for two people, but I just wriggled my way in between Mommy and Daddy and now it is for a family of three. More than just a love seat, a loving family seat!
Poor Mommy is overworked taking care of me. I mean, just feeding me is quite a chore. Look how big I am. Now imagine how much milk it must take to fill me up. Then take into account I am sucking all that energy and nutrients out of Mommy. She is all tuckered out on the account of me. So with the right timing and positioning, she naps when I nap, which is what all the experts suggest. When I fall asleep on Daddy instead of in my crib, on my mat, or in my chair, the three of us are all crowded on the couch and Daddy is pretty much immobile for a couple of hours. No worries. He keeps his game controller nearby and logs in a couple of games of COD. I don’t know what that is but I doubt it is age appropriate for me.
Sometimes I am so comfortable and content that I forget where I am and who is holding me. At these times I have to look and check. This time it was Daddy! I should have guessed. It felt a bit on the hairier side. And, yes, this position is comfortable to me. Don’t ask me why, it just is.
Yep, this is how I roll. Pretty cool, huh?
(Of course, I’m always buckled in properly. This picture was taken after we safely arrived at our destination.)
Okay, this photo was staged. Of course I am not using the remote control to operate the TV. I don’t even like TV. I don’t even know what a TV is. You wouldn’t know this, but I’m looking in a totally different direction from the TV. Maybe this pictures is just a glimpse into the not-too-far-away future.
I’ve been doing my tummy time daily, and I think I’m improving. Not only can I hold my head up at a 90 degree angle, I can hold it up longer. I still have some trouble remembering which muscles to use to hold me head up. I spend most of my tummy time trying to propel myself forward with my legs. Then I finally remember to use my core muscles to raise my head. But once I get it, I do pretty well!
As you can see, I’m enjoy holding my head up because there is much more to see.
As you can also see, I’m quite proud of myself. Now that I can do this, what shall I do next?
Watch out world, Mason is coming! <Insert sinister laugh>
Muwahahaha!
While waiting in the doctor’s waiting room I fell asleep in Mommy’s arms and that gave Mommy and Daddy some time to admire my eyelashes again. They are pretty full and long for a baby barely two months old. Trust me, they are all natural and no mascara was applied.
Today I went to the doctor’s to get my first round of vaccinations. FOUR of them! Oh my! Three of those are shots and I heard that they hurt a lot. I am not really looking forward to this.
The doctor looked me over and listened to my chest with a stethoscope. So that was it, right? All done?
No such luck. The doctor was just giving me a quick checkup to make sure I was healthy enough to get the vaccinations. Apparently I was healthy enough to get three shots in my arms. Drat.
Today was a designated vaccination day at the hospital and there were several other babies there. They looked all cute and happy in the waiting room, then their names were called, I heard bloodcurdling cries, and then they emerged from the emergency room in tears. I was not looking forward to these shots.
But, it was also a bit of a wait, so I got bored and fell asleep.
By the time my name was called, I was enjoying a deep sleep in Mommy’s arms. Boy did I get a rude awakening. Before I knew it, the nurse had jabbed me in the arm with the shot.
Naturally, I started crying, but it wasn’t over yet. Still, two more to go. I got turned around, because they obviously didn’t want to deprive my right arm of the puncturing pain. Then *jab* *jab*, two more shots.
I was in so much pain that I cried and… stopped. That shocked all of us. I’m sure that for a split second Mommy and Daddy thought that I had passed on from the pain, but I didn’t. I just handled the pain and prioritized going back to sleep.
The last vaccination was an oral one and the nurse was planning to give me a few minutes to calm down before she administered it, even suggesting we wait out in the waiting room until I was ready, but to all of our surprise I stopped crying. Not even 10 seconds had passed and I had stopped crying and was asleep again. I wonder if my meaty arms helped disperse the pain. Since I stopped crying the nurse gave me my last vaccination orally and it tasted pretty good.
I gobbled down that medicine with gusto. And that was it. I had to stay in the waiting room for another 30 minutes as a precaution, but I slept that time away with ease. Hmm, not as bad as we all thought it would be.
I went from crying to contently drinking my medicine in less than a minute. Which vaccination method do you think I prefer? Go ahead and compare the pictures.
Then I heard I’d have to be back next month for the second round. Then after that for a third round. And then more and more. I am not looking forward to these visits. But I want to be healthy so let’s just hope I handle them as well as I did this one.
I wonder if the next oral vaccination will taste as good as this one.
I have to talk to Daddy about his positioning of me on my play mat. I had a cloud right in my face. This was not that comfortable or fun.
Since I don’t like to sleep in my crib or in my chair Daddy tried to see if I preferred to sleep on the couch. After all, Mommy and Daddy love to take naps there. Hmmm, still not for me, but I did last longer than I usually do in my crib or chair.
Yep, my hair is still growing and reach for the sky!
It’s tough to get exercise or to enjoy any sports when you can’t run, walk, stand, crawl, or even hold my head up. But I need to start to exercise for my health. I heard that Daddy played soccer when he was younger, so I wanted to follow in his footsteps. So I started to practice today. And I have to say I have some fancy footwork.