My Sweet Nico Boy,
We celebrated Easter this past weekend, and since Jesus was taking center stage over the last few days, this update is a little delayed. Hopefully it was worth the wait.
Earlier this month I read a parenting book that discussed various baby temperaments and I was given new language for your personality: you were a Sparkler Baby—highly alert, very sensitive, emotionally reactive, difficult to soothe, and generally pretty needy. (I’ve said often that I’m grateful you weren’t my first baby because I would have assumed [feared] this was normal and that it would go on indefinitely. Thankfully I knew enough to recognize that this was not typical baby behavior, but also not necessarily an indicator that something was wrong. AND I knew that the fussiness would pass, so I was able to keep your neediness in perspective.) The book mentioned that the Sparkler temperament is a sign of intelligence and that Sparkler newborns often develop into bright, happy, well-attached babies. I’m so happy to report that we seem to be on the path to that transition, as this was your happiest month yet!
A huge contributor to your improved moods has been your newly acquired skill of sitting independently, which you began doing two weeks ago. This has been HUGE! You’re still not really a fan of lying flat and actually seem to have forgotten that you know how to roll over; but now that you can sit, I’m able to set you down and you are perfectly content. I find this to be such a great stage because I can set you down and you stay put (you aren’t showing any interest in crawling just yet). Sometimes you flop over, and you get startled but not upset—you are shockingly sturdy and resilient. You like to sit in your bassinet or on the floor with toys. You especially like it when your siblings come to entertain you by building with Duplos or helping you stack blocks. You are pretty obsessed with rattles, whether you’re shaking them yourself, putting them in your mouth, or having someone shake one in front of you. You also love the spinning toy that suctions to your high chair. Your Fisher Price cash register and airplane teething toys are also huge hits.
There have been some sweet changes to your personality this month. In addition to being happier, you are even more aware than ever before. You follow my moves around a room and turn to look for me when I’m out of sight. My heart melts when you see me and your face lights up or you reach out your arms to be held. You crave interaction with others, whether that’s me or the rest of our family or strangers we see out and about. You are always smiling and laughing and babbling and just love it when people talk to you. You’ve gotten comfortable being held by other people, too; it’s been nice to be able to pass you off to friends when my arms need a break at a playdate or at church. You even went into the babysitting room at the gym this week; it was just for twenty minutes, but you did great and had no tears (it helps that Kali and Sully were there too).
You have become quite the chatty boy this month. In previous months, it was your fussiness that made it difficult to take you to church or Bible study or other quiet settings, and now it’s your babbling (a welcome upgrade). You’ve been experimenting with making sounds and your babbling is constant and always evolving, from “mamama” to “gagaga” to popping noises and grunts. You sometimes seem to be trying to copy the words that we are saying. I have a video of you playing with a rattle, and in it you totally sound like you repeat the word “rattle” after me. I’m certain it was a coincidence, but it sure did sound convincing.
Some of my favorite sounds that you make are the sighs and fussy coos you make as you are drifting off to sleep. It’s adorable to see your eyes start to close as you babble your way into slumber. And speaking of sleep, the whole sleep situation has gotten quite a bit better in recent weeks. Last month at this time I was exhausted by our futile efforts at helping you sleep. My frustration led me to a sleep book that didn’t offer many solutions, but provided some needed perspective and helped me understand that your need to be worn or held or nursed through naps was not a problem unless I made it one. Since then I’ve adjusted my schedule so that Daddy or I can either hold or wear you through a morning nap, and I take a long nap with you in the afternoons. (I’m a mom who loves her naps, so no complaints from me there!)
You’ve gone back to sleeping the first few hours of the night in your swing once I nurse you to sleep, and that evening break has been a relief; but on nights when you won’t go down, I simply hold or wear you as I go about my evening routine, and you are able to sleep as long as you’re in my arms. That’s not all that different from what we had previously been doing, but my mindset has shifted and that’s been all the change we needed. Once you, Daddy, and I are in bed together, we all sleep like a dream—unless I get up to go to the bathroom, and then you scream until I return. But even that has gotten less frantic then before, and we’ve had at least two nights when Daddy has been able to soothe you before I came back to bed. What a huge win!
We have been having a lot of fun with food, and you really love to eat. We haven’t done any “regular” baby food, just steamed and mashed fruits and vegetables, rice cereal, yogurt, and other soft foods. Applesauce is probably your favorite, but you have liked everything I have given you. Regardless of what is in your bowl, you always make a hilarious surprised/disgusted face after the first bite. . . before opening your mouth for more. We haven’t tried all of the top allergens yet, but you have been fine with every food we have tried including milk (yogurt) and peanut butter, which are a couple of the bigger concerns. I’m extremely grateful that you seem to be our fourth baby with no food allergies! You have no interest in feeding yourself yet, which is funny because every non-food item goes immediately in your mouth, but you resist putting actual food into your mouth. I think we will be trying puffs soon and I have a feeling those will be your finger-food gateway (as they were for your siblings). I’m not in too much of a hurry, though; the food mess is definitely not my favorite.
Lately there has been a lot of speculation about when you will start crawling or standing or walking. Some babies your age have already reached those milestones, but you don’t seem to be in a hurry to move and that’s just fine with me. You have already done so much growing up in just the last month alone, and the developments are a relief and also a little bittersweet. I’m glad to see that you are happier and not as needy. And sometimes I miss you in the longer stretches when you’re not in my arms. I watched you yesterday as you sat propped up by your boppy pillow—the one you were tiny enough to sleep on just a few months ago. You started to fall but pushed yourself back to sitting, then continued playing with your rattle like nothing had happened. It was such a big-kid move and left me proud and little sad about how quickly we’ve reached this level of independence.
I have been teaching you how to give me kisses: I say “kiss” and give you a huge kiss on the lips before pulling away with a smile. Your sloppy lips and goofy grin are my own little glimpses of Heaven on earth, and I am just so tremendously grateful that I get to experience this pure love with you. I’ll love you always and forever, sweet boy!
Love,
Your Adoring Mama
LIKES: rattles, eating (milkies and solids), sitting up and playing with your siblings, Fisher Price cash register
DISLIKES: rolling over, being placed on your back, waiting to eat
CLOTHING SIZE: 3-6 months
DIAPER SIZE: Honest size 2
EYE COLOR: Mostly brown, maybe still a little hazel.
HAIR STATUS: Rapidly disappearing as well as lightening, with one random (very) long hair on the side and a huge bald spot in the back (where your head rubs against my chest when I wear you).
MILESTONES: Sitting up independently, first time in the babysitting room, first morning alone with Daddy (for a few hours while the other kids and I went to a Classical Conversations Open House).
OTHER FAVORITE MEMORIES: The faces you make after your first taste of food, your babbling that sounded like the word “rattle,” seeing how much you love smiling at other people, watching you quietly coo your way to sleep, your huge grin when I give you a kiss.
