My kids and notes: Year 7.1
February 22, 2022
I get a turn?
JB’s normally an equal opportunity attention hound with a STRONG preference for PiC. Lately, they’ve been coming to me for more attention, hugging me more, calling me Mommy, and asking me to read to them for bedtime. Up until a couple months ago, they actively did not want me to read to them to the point that when PiC would come to say goodnight if I was reading, they’d remove the book from my hand and say ok! Daddy can read now!! (Implied: byyyyeeeee-eeeee)
It’s rather bemusing. They’ve always been his and the two of them always enjoyed a very close relationship. Usually I’m just orbiting their cozy companionship. I can’t even say I’m out of practice being wanted, I was never wanted long enough to GET in practice. I always assumed I’d have my turn when the time was right but I didn’t expect it to feel so weird when it did come around.
With Smol, I’m wanted about as often as PiC is and that’s also a funny feeling. I like being wanted sometimes but it’s an unusual feeling. Of course we both play second fiddle to JB, the apple of Smol’s eye.
Life with Smol Acrobat
We’re entering my favorite baby stage where Smol has a tiny modicum of understanding of the world and is soaking it all up and banging on everything to see what that does.
I’m restraining myself from assisting the way I would a few months ago and displayed no awareness of space or gravity. They dropped a book off a step and instead of pitching facefirst off the step as usual going after it, they carefully sat down, braced their body, and reached down only after they were properly stable. I was so proud!
I also love their penchant for cuddles. They love to come lay their head on my face or head, sometimes at speed which results in a BONK, sometimes gently where it feels like getting a kitty face rub.
And every expression they make, I love (and usually find hilarious). The devastated grimace prefacing a cry. The meltdown. The GIVE IT TO ME I EAT IT pursed lips. The DADDY DADDY YOU’RE HERE! The Hi Sera I pet you! I. PET. YOU. The JB JB JB I LOVE YOU. The excited mama mama mama wait for meeeee. The mischievous raspberries that are just really sputtering spit at me. The grin and head shakes. The belly laughs when we play, the twinkling eyes when they’ve done something and anticipate a reaction, or are holding the phone cord they KNOW is a no no. The fury when I haul them away from inspecting / eating JB’s school things. The immense satisfaction and concentration when tearing up paper to taste.
Emotion is more intense now that it’s accompanied by a clear new level of cognition. They’re a lot more trouble now they’re mobile on four wheels or two, but equally delightful.
*****
The thing is, all these are just age appropriate baby traits. They’re not Smol’s personality. I was thinking about how JB was such a big personality at this point and pondering what Smol’s is.
They are very reserved about people. They’re engaged with the core family and love being tickled, but otherwise prefer to observe for a long time before ever changing their expression, much less engaging with anyone.
They aren’t an enthusiastic eater, they check everything for poison first: mouth it and spit out. Return to the new food several minutes or even hours later.
They have a strong affinity for animals, live and stuffed. The first thing they “spoke” to was a stuffed kitty, they have always been interested in Sera’s business. During their stranger danger phase, having a furry pet was the one guaranteed way to convince them to approach someone.
*****
After weeks of trying to get Smol to acknowledge that milk CAN be drunk out of anything other than a bottle, I felt deflated. I’d cycled through every drink container we had and they absolutely refused. How long are we going to be stuck with bottles??? Then one night, after defrosting a baked oatmeal treat for myself and seeing Smol holler and grab at it like it was a life preserver, I realized we finally had a high value treat. Bit by tiny bit, I traded Smol wee crumbles of oatmeal bar for sips from the sippy cup.
I held my breath nearly the whole time and by the end of 2 ounces I wanted to do a happy dance. This was our tipping point!
I withheld the bottles starting that night, water in regular cups and milk in sippies only, to prevent backsliding.
*****
Smol Acrobat used to be a good listener for their reading, we normally read before every nap and sleep, but lately they’ve been unwilling to sit still for a reading. It makes me unreasonably nervous. I immediately feel like I’m failing to instill the proper love of reading in them and that’s so important to us. PiC thinks it’s just this phase of being super mobile and active, and I can’t clearly remember if JB ever had a phase of being too much in motion to hold still for a book.
Pupdate
Sera is still nervous when I check her body for lumps, bumps, raw spots, etc. She used to watch me tend to Seamus daily but she’s still not accustomed to being the subject.
After an exam, I always make it a point to just sit next to her and scratch her head so she can relax and reinforce the idea that she’s not in trouble when she’s scrutinized closely. I’m just trying to take good care of her.
She’s starting to grey a bit on her muzzle. Bit of salt mixing in these days which makes me sad.
I was thinking about how Seamus was always the lodestone for her affection and he just tolerated it, making me worry that it was a mistake to adopt her as his particular companion. But as much as he wasn’t affectionate with her, she did put the pep back in his step and he was much more active in his last few years, so maybe she was the right pick for him after all. And she adored him so, he couldn’t have helped but feel loved by all.
Precious Moments
This made me laugh enough that I wanted to record it for posterity.
Me, after the Bottomless Maw complains of STILL being hungry and the Newest Maw just spent all of dinner complaining: turns out feeding two is too much. One of ’em gotta go.
PiC: 🤣
JB: Wait what??? Who’s gotta go???
Me: well, who eats too much?
JB: me.
Me: and who is a big pain to feed?
JB: Smol.
Me: it’s a tossup.
JB: But you spent so much time growing us.
Me: sunk cost fallacy.
JB: what?
Me: what?
JB: oh! Who would do your laundry?
Me: I’d have less laundry to do.
JB: I think you should keep us.
Me: eh probably.
JB: besides, where would we even go?
Me: your auntie’s.
JB: but I like the dinners here. And I would miss Smol!
Me: 🤣 ok you know we’re kidding.
JB: yep I know!
I’m utterly impressed they never threw Smol Acrobat under the bus. My older brother would before you could blink. He tried to sell me out to a cop when I was 3.
Later that night as I was getting Smol ready for bed, JB brought them a new book as a prize for “being the best baby sibling EVER!!!” and then sat next to them singing: “It’s ok little Smol, we’re all here for you, it’s ok little Smol, you’re safe and we love you, it’s ok little Smol, you are loved, you are safe, you are protected.”
*****
I was kneeling on Sera’s bed, hugging her head, when Smol wobbled over to inspect the goings on. They smiled and climbed on the bed to join me, reaching out to squeeze Sera’s paw. I moved their hand a little to make it a gentle pat instead of a squeeze and they looked at us both thoughtfully for a moment. Then, clearly making up their mind, they stretched out in a child’s pose on the bed and laid down next to Sera. Baby solidarity!
*****
JB: Good night mommy. Do you still have the tube in you?
Me: I what?
JB: The tube. From the doctor.
*****
The cognition at this age is fun and startling. Smol was playing attack dino on the bed and cracking me up, so I hollered for PiC to come see. No answer. Called again. No answer. Called again a few more times, confused. With each call, Smol Acrobat looked at me with an increasingly furrowed brow. I finally said, “That’s weird, let’s go see where he is.”
Smol immediately stood up and tottered over me, arms out, as if they understood what I was saying! Off we went to find PiC.
*****
JB: what’s faster than a cheetah? This is a joke.
Me: I dunno.
JB: a CheetO! *giggles*
Me: the …chip? Is faster than a cheetah?
JB: yep!
