Skills ...

I was asked yesterday what Chet's skills were and like a proud mother I thought I would note down what they are at 7 weeks and again at various intervals. That way I can observe his development and keep track of changes as he grows. So, 7 week skills:

• Smiling - this is a good one. He has been smiling for a few weeks now and it really is very exciting when he breaks into a big, goofy toothless grin.
• Blowing bubbles - this is quite new, maybe just the last week. I guess it is a precursor to dribbling. Better get those bibs out.
  
• Sticking his tongue out - this has also been going on for a little while now. He will stick his tongue out if I persistently stick mine out at him or sometimes he just sits there continually sticking his tongue out.
• Cooing - he mostly does this when he is in the shower with the K-man. Very sweet - I cried the first time we put him in the shower - he loved it so much and looked so happy.
• Wiggling and squirming - this is a skill that started in the womb - hence the initial moniker of Mr Leapy. It does not seem to have abated any.
• Throwing his arms in the air. I call it his black power salute because he often looks as though he is saluting me with his right arm. Sometimes he doesn't quite make the salute and wacks himself in the face instead. Mostly this doesn't seem to worry him.
• Weeing and pooing - like all babies he is a champion at these basic human functions. And like all boy babies he ocassionally wees across the room or on me when I am changing his nappy.
• Sucking on his dummy - he was a little over a week old when we got him his dummy and it made the world of difference after a particulalry bad night of screaming. Even in the hospital I was saying that I thought he might need a dummy and I wasn't wrong. Although he doesn't always want it he loves his dummy and can get very crochety if I am driving and it falls out and I can't get it back in his mouth. I often find it under his ear which isn't really the best place for it. And it is quite amusing when after a period of time of sitting quietly he suddenly starts sucking really hard on the dummy - it must be some sort of comfort sucking! He also likes to suck noisily on his fist - he often wakes me up with the sound of the sucking. Presumably at some stage the fist will replace the dummy ...