lollardfish

My son is currently cutting his first tooth. There are several signs - first, there's the tooth-shaped thing beginning to push on the inside of his gum. It's all ridgy. Second, there's a little fussy fussy. Third, there are the long strands of drool emerging and dripping down his face from time to time. Good times.

He's doing really well. He can sit up, but mostly chooses not to (so it's not a viable position to do other than on the couch, bed, or lap). His standing is really solid, and he's so tall that he can stand in his bouncer and play cheerfully (and indefinitely) with all his toys. Now that he doesn't really like his mat on the ground all that much any more (he's happy, but not entertained by toys hanging from the bars above - those are for babies - the bouncer is a good alternative. It works with him on cause and effect, physical development of many sorts (gross motor, fine motor, standing, etc.), and is fun!

Lots of other developmental milestones, which we track fiendishly (at least I do). Hand-to-foot play, pulling cloths off of his face in sitting, standing, and now prone postures, lots and lots of sounds beginning with consonants (he says "da-da-da-da-da-da-da" a lot. It makes da-da very happy, even if it's just playing with sounds. Tongue-control, especially while eating, is the current big challenge. To address this (to teach him to eat, and eventually talk, with his tongue in his mouth), his therapist has us feeding him three-times-a-day (as of yesterday) with a tiny cup (like a medicine cup), and holding his head in a special way to keep the tongue in. It seems to be paying dividends already, but we'll keep at it. It's a pain, though, since he and I had gotten really good at spoons. Food has expanded to include apples, pears, peaches, oatmeal, and rice gruel. Later this week we try vegetables again - we had started, but then there was constipation, and that was unfortunate.

Most of all, though, he's just the most loving creature that I can imagine, let alone have ever known.

And now, back to packing.