brood

it is perhaps time to cover some of levi’s wondrous and perplexing abilities, and behaviors. this is sort of an act of documentation, which may later prove useful when we make it all pretty in the super rad ultra fab baby book we got.

- cooing…

vocalisations have become more pronounced with you, young man. they are more playful, expressive, and varied. when you are upset you cry and as you come down from the cry through some hopeful comforting on our part you have this kind of talk that seems to hold a lot of information. we have come to call it crooing because it is kind of like crying and cooing at the same time. there are other more playful sounds you make when you seem to be adventurous and inquisitive. statements you make when you are confident and secure. finally there are the sounds of just idle chatter which often happens after you wake up from a restful sleep, just chit chatting with the mattress. it’s so cute i can hardly stand it.

- laughing

this has become a wonderful aspect of your development because it is so engaging and responsive to your environment, which is often just ladyjoanna and i. momma can get you to laugh with just her smile and a swoop of a hand. others have made you laugh, like your aunties kathy and tillie. we all seem to agree that you like a surprise, but only when you’re ready for it. that’s kind of a paradox. i guess you like suspense. it seems that if we give you any idea that you’ll be subject to a funny sound or a tickle you are right there ready with a big laugh. you like a little nuzzle on the neck, or a tickle on your sides, but sometimes if daddy just barks like a dog, you let out a cherubic guffaw. just today you decided to laugh at elroy the cat! that was amazing! you reached out for him and he kind of moved away, and that was funny! he then stopped and groomed himself, and shook his head like he does, and that was humorous as well!

– reaching for things

you have really gotten good and clutching items in front of you. on the play mat you reach for toys, even belly scoot every so slowly toward them. you grab all manner of things. anything from our faces, to the bamboo wind chimes on the porch (a favorite). Sometimes the things go right in your mouth, and other times we think you bat them around just because of the noises they make. of course, if i sit with you at the piano you bat at the keys, or put the guitar in front of you you grab, or strike the strings. it’s a joy to watch all this in action!

– almost sitting up

okay so you don’t sit up yet. that’s for bigger boys and girls, but you can hold the pose for a while, particularly if there is a pillow nearby. you seem to enjoy it as well. i think you’ll be doing it soon!

– rolling over

you can do a full log roll, but usually just opt for back to tummy rolls. it’s made us more wary on the changing table, but i think this behavior is opening new doors for you, and we all look forward to seeing what’s behind them.

– sleeping

you can sleep for up to 11 hours straight, although that’s more of a gift than the norm. but you sleep rather well at night, and wake only once at night to eat. we love having you in our room in the arm’s reach cosleeper next to the bed, but i think you’ll be climbing soon, and for obvious safety reasons we’ll need to graduate to the crib. we can’t bare to move you out of the room though. it’s just too nice to have you there, and they say it is safer.

oh there is so much more… and things change so fast… i wish i could just get a snapshot of everything… but i can’t and that’s life…. but this was fun, and i will add more later.

last night we went out to dinner some friends of ours, and their babies. there was an 8 month, a 7 month, and their parents… and of course levi the almost 5 month. Each baby was showing their uniqueness. One fell asleep on her mom, one spent a lot of time playing with just about every item on the table (the fork was quickly corked (thanks to the wine drinking) for safety reasons.) and levi insisted on being held the entire time. not just held, but held while standing and moving around – constant motion, as they say. a bit of jiggling, rocking, bouncing etc. (actually, for a while i was doing this so much, that even when i was not holding levi, i found myself swaying and bouncing out of sheer habit!) one mom and i discussed the double-edge sword of jiggling – it is not just calming, but also acts as a giant milk shaker, and with levi that usually means a little milk will find it’s way out. in fact, i was holding levi so he was kind of suspended above his momma – a position he was thoroughly enjoying – when suddenly out came a portion of his earlier meal. the blob splattered on momma’s face and blouse… luckily there wasn’t that much, and the event good for a laugh – how could you not? i many parents have some gross story involving spit-up, pee, or poop getting on themselves in unexpected ways.

the other day, it occurred to me that i live in a society that has plenty of access to diapers. i wondered how people who do not, deal with their baby’s output. at first, i tried to think what ancient humans did before cloth was available at all. after doing some reading, i realized that probably 2/3 of the world doesn’t have access to diapers, and they raise plenty of babies. so, how do they do it? this summarizes it nicely:

“Infants give recognizable signs of imminent peeing and pooping; it’s possible to learn your infant’s signs”

They call it “elimination communication” and apparently, if you do this, you make your baby more aware of their output and potty training becomes a cinch!

see http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2004/02/12/umbra-diaperless/

and… as one might guess, the web offers a wealth of information on this topic. now, since it seems so natural and all of that, it appeals to me. could it be that easy? is there a chamber pot in levi’s future? oh my! will (jody and) i be considered bizarre (again)? well… even if we don’t, i feel thankful for diapers, but now see them as a symbol of western affluence (as if i needed more of those).

i have uploaded some more pictures… look for a “month 4″ link soon.