Kids, man!

Okay, the kids are alright! Lochlan is pretty much mellow. My dad said earlier that in every picture I've posted, he looks like, "Fuck it, I'm happy!" And I think that's a pretty good description. I mean, he fusses and cries, but just not that much. He sleeps a lot. And eats. And then he smiles, and that's pretty much his whole life.

Azadeh loves him, although she is somewhat jealous of the sheer amount of time I have to give him. But what's sweet is how charmed she is by his smiles, how much she wants to hold him, and how quickly she jumps to comfort him if he cries. I hear myself in her when she talks to him... "Who's a good little Lochlan boy? Who's a Lochlan bear? Who's a happy boy? You are! You are, Buddy!"

He looks a lot like Sweetie and a whole lot like Z, and a tiny little bit, maybe from the side, like Mr. Magoo. What, one can't notice a semi-unflattering resemblance to a cartoon character in their own kid?

Just a slight resemblance, that's all I'm saying. 

Anyway, life around here is pretty awesome, even though Sweetie dislocated his knee again (OUCH), and I have to go back to work soon.

Fuck it, I'm happy!

5 weeks (almost)

Well, the boy is sleeping a little less, but just a little! He has long, wakeful, usually happy hours. The other day I decided to look up some milestones for newborns, and eye contact was said to happen in a few weeks from now. He's beaten the shit out of that timeline. Lochlan looks right at you -- right into your eyes -- and maintains eye contact for as long as you will.

In fact, a couple times I've felt guilty because I was nursing him and looked up to check Facebook or whatever, then looked down at him and found he was still staring into my eyes. It feels a little like I should reciprocate!

His neck is getting stronger all the time. He looks in both directions, although in his sleep he still naturally flops his head to his left, and it's obviously still harder for him to turn his head to the right, especially during tummy time.

He likes to be carried and held, and if he's in a baby carrier, he'll sleep for hours. If I put him in the swing, I can get about 20 minutes. I think he really responds to body warmth, and maybe the sound of my heartbeat.

One thing I'm trying with him that I failed at with Zadie is putting him down in his crib when he's awake. She screamed bloody murder at being put down at all, so usually I would nurse her to sleep. Of course, later on when she stopped nursing, that meant we had a hard time ever getting her to sleep. So tonight, for example, he was really tired, and his little eyelids were drooping, so I laid him down and waited a few minutes. His eyes were still open just a minute later, but after about five minutes, he was asleep. I hope it helps in the long run, but what may help in the long run is that he's just a very different baby than she was.

He made a couple sounds today that really sounded like laughter. And he had been smiling as well. He's just a good-natured boy. It's a real delight to have him around.