jeremy&jethro

Slurp, Sputter, Slobber

Just last week I tried breaking in the little guy to some solid grub. I know, I know, all the pedia sites recommend solid food feeding only on the 6^th month. But for a while now, Jethro has been showing signs of solid food readiness:

One, he’s able to sit up and hold his head (that is, when he’s not mesmerized by his feet, in which case he nods too far forward and topples over).

Two, he avidly watches us eat and his eyes go a-twinkle when he sees big-people food. One time, I swear I saw him smack his lips.

Three, he’s losing that “extrusion reflex,” the forward thrusting of the tongue that pushes out food.

Four, he still seems hungry even after a 6-ounce feed. And he’s not shy about showing it; he’ll holler his head off.

So I decided it’s time for solids. The first time I gave Jethro that yummy spoonful of cereal, his eyes lit up, and his face registered an expression of wonderment. And from that time on, there was no turning back.

This morning, as he was happily slurping down the chow, I must have been slow in serving up the next spoonful, because the next thing I knew, he was making angry, demanding noises. I speeded it up, and in no time at all, the bowl was empty. But still Jethro wouldn’t quiet down, he was yelling, waving his arms, knitting his brows together. Puzzled, I offered him his bottle, and upon seeing it, he yelled even louder. Could it be that he’s still hungry?!

Ah yes, he still wants a bottle even after that bowlful of cereal. So bottle it is, and Jethro settled down to his formula feed. And what d'ya know, he finished the entire bottle—all four ounces of it—in one sitting (what an appetite this kid has!).  Then and only then did he start smiling and cooing.

Full tummy = happy baby.  Scary.

Do The Chew

Baby Jethro could be starting to feel the itch of teeth getting ready to break out of his gums. These past few days he’s been putting things within grab reach into his mouth and chewing on them, drool spilling in long sticky threads.

In the pictures he’s got a locked grip on his current favorite chewable, an orange-and-yellow frog rattle (part of a Christmas gift set from Jet & Checcs). Look at that expression of intense concentration—the furrowed brows, the twinkle in the eye.

Yum, yum, yum, plastic frog! What a happy baby!

Hand Me Down Habit

I’m more than glad to notice that finally, Jeremy seems to be outgrowing the habit of soothing himself using a strand of hair. This hairy habit began with his blanket, the gauzy white sheet that doubled as a wipe and a blanket when he was a baby. He would tug at a corner of the blanket to pull out a stray thread and trail this thread on his cheek to soothe himself, and then drift off to sleep.

Then one day he must have discovered a hair strand and thought, “Aha, this works much better.”

Instant gratification, what can I say. I know, I know, stray hair is unhygienic, but let me see anyone try and explain that to a toddler.

Lately though, Jeremy is gradually letting go of the hair habit, as he’s discovered there are other, more interesting things to do in the great big world. And, as he’s learning to express himself better, he’s also maturing emotionally, so the coping mechanisms are becoming less of a necessity.

Just last month, while I was trying to calm a sleepy, and thus fussy Jethro, I observed Jeremy looking on with a thoughtful expression. Jethro was making short, tiny sobs, his lower lip trembling in a damp pout.

Jeremy steps closer to us, and placing his hand on baby Jethro’s head says reassuringly, “Touch, peekap.” (‘peekap’ is Jeremyspeak for ‘hikap,’ which is Ilonggo for ‘touch’).

He then turns and carefully puts something in the baby’s grasping hand. I look to see what it was.

Clutched in Jethro’s fat fingers, there it was—a strand of hair.

Rollover, Reverse

At four months, Jethro has rolled over, back-to-tummy, grinning with happiness over his new accomplishment. This means no more leaving him on the bed while he’s flat on his back.  He can do the belly flip in two seconds flat, and you better be on the standby in case he rolls all the way to the edge and horrors—to the floor! I always tell yaya it would be better to put him on the mat on the floor in case she absolutely needs to turn her back on him. That way he won’t be in any danger of falling.

Yesterday, Jethro turned 5 months old, and just this morning, as we were playing in bed, he rolled over, this time from tummy-to-back!  Holy reversible baby, Batman!

Boy Under The Christmas Tree

These are my favorite Christmas photos of Jeremy.

The first one was taken Christmas morning. He was dressed for church, but went straight under the tree to get to the gifts. I remember, he thought the prettily wrapped packages were the gifts themselves. He didn’t know you were supposed to open them. Imagine his delight when he saw what was inside the boxes.

We opened the gifts on Christmas Eve, I think. The photo far right was taken that night, Jeremy in his red and green onesies, the floor strewn with wrappers, toys scattered all around.

Of course, he's the one who got the most gifts.
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