Milk drunk

Now this is what food coma should be like!

A year ago...

...my little bun was a blastoplast in the oven. Ok, he was probably already an embryo but blastoplast is such a cool word! And now he's a little pre-sitter!

Happy New Year!

My parents' visit ends in a few days, and in the 3+ weeks that they've been here little munchkin has grown so much. Today he weighed an unofficial 6.5 kilos on the bathroom scale.

Now, he can:

• "stand" while supported
• grab things and hold them with his hand
• see across the room, and thus follow people with his eyes
• see (and stare!) at the TV screen

Just this past weekend, it's as if the world just exploded into color for him. He's so curious, he has a hard time nursing. The other morning he woke up hungry for breakfast. But after a few vigorous sucks, he'd break off to look left, right, left, in wide-eyed curiosity before returning to suck vigorously, only to break off a few 6seconds later with another new discovery, and repeat over and over. Funny, although tiring for the sole "chef" and "waitress" at Mom's Diner. I've gotten a lot of use out of my nursing cape since then (thanks Auntie Jenn, for making it) as it makes a dark and less stimulating environment so that he can focus on nursing, or if he's in the carrier, fall asleep.

Speaking of which, I'm in the market for a new carrier. Although I love the versatility of the ring sling, I really need something that distributes weight across both shoulders and my hips and can be used until toddlerhood. Being able to nurse in it, easy in-and-out, a variety of baby-wearing positions, and dad-friendly wearability are all pluses. Oh, and Taiwan is incredibly hot and humid in the summer. Any suggestions?

Bedtime Story #2

Freshly bathed by Daddy, we settle our little one for bed. He's not quite ready to nurse himself to sleep, so I grab a cloth book to read him a story. For the first time, he is interested in the book and grabs the cloth animals with his fat fists and explores the book, turning it this way and that, putting the edges into his mouth. Eventually he tires and begins to ease into sleep. Not the most exciting of new year's eve plans, but at this point, I'll choose a calm, peaceful evening to an eventful one with an overtired baby.

Bedtime Story #1

Holding him in my arms, my cheek pressed against his cheek, all soft baby skin and pillowy baby fat, while bouncing on a yoga ball. He finally falls asleep for (hopefully) the night, nearly three hours after what we had hoped would be his bedtime.

But, how many chances will I have again for him to be still and allow me to rest my cheek against that sweet baby cheek?

A silver lining

My favorite part of night feedings (I know, you must wonder how there could possibly be anything pleasant about those mandatory nightly sleep disruptions) is the expression my little guy makes as I burp him. You see, the little fellow is tired and wants to go back to sleep, but he also knows he's gassy. So as he's sitting on my lap getting burped, he keeps his eyes shut and pouts. It's so cute! Alas, with both hands needed to prop him up, I'm not able to photograph it. And, as his digestion has matured, I rarely burp him at night. It is a moment of his babyhood that is gradually fading away along with his sweet newborn scent.

Bedtime

Every night, my little guy needs me to cuddle him to fall asleep. I used to feel constrained; there are so many things I could get done in the 45-60 minutes it takes for him to go into a deep sleep state so that I can sneak away. But I look at his chubby cheeks and pouty lips, and I feel his tummy rise and fall with each breath as it is pressed up against mine. And I cherish this short time of when he is still small and needs to nestle into me to sleep. All too soon, I am told, he will grow up.