TMI Tuesday: Milk Please!

In addition to chugging, he can also put the ball in the cup too... 

There are moments when my son tilts his head back and his sippy cup almost vertical when I want to poke a hole in the bottom and see how fast he can really guzzle his milk. This has been his routine ever since we got him off of formula a few months back. Basically, in addition to being much friendlier to our bank account, our son seems to enjoy whole milk much more than the rancid smelling concoction that we used to have to mix before every meal.

He has gotten pretty good at drinking too. Among his various techniques, in addition to the milk pounding mentioned above, he has many one handed and no hand ways that he enjoys drinking. He also does the same thing with the sippy cups full of water that we keep on a side table in the family room for whenever he gets thirsty.

However, there are moments when his overzealous chugging can be more problematic as it can put him off balance at times. This usually isn’t a big deal as, for the most part, he is either sitting or holding onto something while standing and drinking but there are times when he puts himself in a precarious position. Those moments include when he lets go of his support (usually leading to his legs buckling), he tries to emphatically drink while I am holding him (I almost have to hug him to keep him from bending backward), and when he is a little too quick throwing his head back (he usually ends up laying on his back when this happens).

Fortunately, these moments are more amusing than anything and we usually hear him giggling when they happen. The only exception being when I am holding him as there have been a few times when I have been startled or he has been startled or both. That usually leads to a look of “what the heck just happened” or “what are you doing daddy? I’m trying to drink here!” Sometimes some pointed baby babble follows. 

But, as time goes on and he continues to grow faster than we anticipated, he keeps getting better at these rudimentary tasks. Thankfully, he is a quick learner and many of the instances mentioned above only happened a handful of times, all with slight variations mind you. Soon these moments will be a thing of the past but I will still wonder how fast he can shotgun his sippy cup (I’m pretty sure a milk bong will work too).

TMI Tuesday: I Want To Talk To Daddy NOW!

Part of my daily routine is calling my wife while on my way home after work. I have done this for a while and in the past it wasn’t as regular as it has become over the past year. Of course, now my wife and I have little say as to whether my phone is going to ring while I am getting on the highway.

Every day, so I have been told, when my wife picks our son up from work he babbles in the back seat saying “da da” over and over again as if it has become his infant mantra. This usually continues for much of the afternoon (and sometimes into the night) until he finally gets to the point when he reaches for my wife’s phone, says “da da”, and waves. He may only be ten months old but he has no issues getting his message across… I want to talk to dada now!

This is pretty much the same routine regardless of whether he is having a good day or a bad day and sometimes, for some reason, hearing my voice on the phone is one of the few things that will calm him down. However, consider yourself warned, if he is expecting to talk to daddy and you decide to call, he will not readily accept this and will be rather vocal about his displeasure. I am told that it is an interesting site to behold when the voice on the other end of the line is not that of his daddy… basically, imagine being cursed out in baby babble.

Of course, I am of two minds when I think about this routine that we have and the close relationship that I have been able to build with our son. While he knows my voice and he looks forward to seeing me every night, I am usually only able to spend anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes with him per day. And that is if I don’t have anything going on that night. This is why I am happy to have the relationship that we do but, at the same time, I don’t like the fact that I see him for such a small amount of time.

It’s almost as if I can hear Harry Chapin warming up back stage letting me know that I am walking a fine line. He is ready to go and can start singing at any time if I screw up. That is the last thing that I want to happen and why when I am home I give my son as much attention as I am able, play with him, and tell him I love him whenever I am given the chance. It may not be ideal but, so far, it is seems to maintain the strength of our connection.

Baby Hits Double Digits

Our son has officially reached double digits! I have no idea where the last ten months have gone but it is fascinating to think about all the changes that have happened over that time. Our baby is quickly turning into a little boy and all I can think about each day is trying to figure out how to stop time for just a day or two so that I might have an outside chance of catching up and having a moment to breath. But, at the same time, there is little I would change about how the last few months have gone… only one thing really. There have been great moments and difficult nights but, overall, it has been an experience which I wouldn’t change for the world.

These monthly milestones always have me thinking about those first few weeks when I was more concerned about breaking him rather than simply enjoying the quite moments holding my sleeping son. It was a time of light pats trying to get the burps out compared to the firm jostles that actually get the job done. Our son was pretty quiet from the very beginning. It may not have seemed like it at times but we have seen the way that other babies scream in restaurants and other public places. And, yes, our son still gives those kids the stink eye for interrupting his day.

It is amazing to think that only ten months ago he was holding my index finger as the nurse was cleaning him off for the first time. Now, it is hard to get him to stay still and when he does grab my hand it is more out of fascination rather than for comfort. Although it is nice to hear him babble rather than crying being his only means of communication.

So much has changed in our baby boy over the last ten months and so much has changed around him as well. However, the most important things are not the changes that have happened but the simple facts that he continues to be the same happy baby today that he was in the beginning, he still smiles at us in the same innocent, and sometimes not so innocent way, and he still finds comfort in our arms. Our son, and the love that we have for him, is growing so fast. No matter how much we love him at any given moment I know that it will increase exponentially over time (at least until he is a teenager). It may not always be easy but life doesn’t get much better than in those simple moments shared between a father and a son.

TMI Tuesday: Your Dinner Looks Really Good Daddy!

My usual routine at the end of each day is that when I get home I make sure to spend time with our son, play with him, and put him to bed before my wife and I sit down to eat dinner. It may not be the best solution but at this point it is what works and it allows me to spend some time with our baby before having to prep and cook. However, there are times when I get home a little earlier than usual or dinner is particularly quick to pull together and we end up eating immediately after our son finishes his food.

As we are eating we can’t help but get the feeling that we are being stared at with every bite. Sure enough, when we look over we see our son watching the food as it travels from the plate to our mouth. This of course is accompanied by copious amounts of drool (more than what his teething usually produces) as well as a smacking of his lips about every other bit. This has been the same routine for months even back to when he couldn’t sit up on his own.

Lately, he has taken things to an entirely new level as he really wants to taste what we are eating. At least once during the course of our dinner he will give a little screech and babble something that we are supposed to understand given the expression on his face. Most likely it is probably something along the lines of “Your dinner looks really good Daddy. How about you give me a little taste of whatever it is that you are eating?” He will go on to repeat the babble which is usually concluded by a short burst of yelling when we don’t comply.

Thankfully, he is now able to feed himself some small puffs so we usually put some on his tray when we sit down at the table with our plates. This has been much more effective than the small rotation of toys that quickly lose their ability to calm him when food is present. We have also introduced tiny pieces of banana which the three of us are able to share… baby really like when we are all enjoying the same thing. At the same time, we are slowly introducing him to new foods and broadening his palate so that, one day, hopefully he will like what he tastes when mommy and daddy are able to give him a bite of their food.