The Alien Baby

Have I mentioned what a fantastic baby Canon was, and is? Crying always means "I'm hungry" or "I'm sleepy" . . . until The Alien Baby takes over his body. I wasn't prepared for it, and I didn't see it coming the first time it found us.

We had taken Canon to church a couple of times prior to The Alien Baby's initial arrival. He typically slept through the service, but if he were to awaken, he would simply look around without making a sound. He was always very predictable - eat, play, sleep, repeat. This cycle was broken on Saturday, April 18, 2009, as we sat in a church pew awaiting the marriage vows of our friends, Matt and Rebecca.

As usual, we arrived at the church just before the service began. There was soft music playing and people being seated. It was quiet but not completely silent. The mothers were eventually escorted to their seats, followed closely by the bridal party. If you've ever been to a wedding, you know that there is a very brief period of time between the bridesmaids and the bride when the music stops playing and the bride is preparing to make her big entrance. It is completely silent for maybe three seconds before the trumpets roll to announce the beginning of this sacred ceremony. It was during this three second lull that The Alien Baby first struck our family.

As I twisted in my seat to get a clear view of the main doors as they opened to reveal the beautiful bride, Canon let out a scream so shrill that my heart stopped beating. There was no warning. No soft fussing to let me know he was a bit uncomfortable. No muffled "wah" to prepare me. There was only crying - loud, forceful, look-at-me crying. As I grabbed the diaper bag and headed out the side door, I caught a glimpse of Rebecca's first step down the aisle. I was mortified, but Rebecca swears she never heard a sound. The Alien Baby stayed in my sweet and innocent son until the wedding ended, but left just in time for the reception, during which there would have been enough noise to drown out its terrible cries.

The Alien Baby appeared again the very next day when we attended church and took Canon with us as usual. We attend a contemporary service that is lead by a loud and energetic praise band. The band was playing the opening songs when we arrived, and Canon slept through the next several minutes of bass, electric guitars, and drums. When the music stopped, however, and the preacher took the stage, The Alien Baby once again slithered into my son to cause yet another scene. Apparently, it strikes most often in moments of complete silence when it is difficult to smother the heart-wrenching sounds.

Since that weekend, The Alien Baby has returned on only a few occasions, usually in the car on a long roadtrip when it is impossible to hold and console Canon. Or on a weekend night when all of our friends have come over to relax. Barry and I are getting better at dealing with this Alien Baby. It usually goes away with a quick toss over the shoulder and some pats on the back. A bottle has also proven to get rid of it. It must not like the formula we use!

In case you don't believe me, here are some pictures of when The Alien Baby took over.

Easter

Easter was our first family holiday. We decided to stay in Dothan for the weekend and go to our home church. The church had been building a new sanctuary for several months, and this Easter Sunday was our first service in the new building. Barry and a couple of our friends had staked the place out in the days before and chosen the pew that would be "ours." To my dismay, it was on the front row of the balcony, meaning we stood behind a banister barely 3 feet high, dozens of feet above the floor below. Needless to say, I held Canon tightly during that service.

Because we were in such a rush to get to church on time that morning, I was determined to get a family picture once we returned home. Don't let the nice house and Pleasantville neighborhood fool you. When necessary, Barry and I can rig up a good, old-fashioned redneck tripod with the best of them. Our particular tripod consisted of an ironing board and a stack of books set up on the sidewalk outside the house. If only I had a second camera to take a picture of the tripod for those of you who don't believe me. It took us several tries, but we were finally able to capture a half-way decent photograph of the three of us. Canon is crying, and I'm standing like an offensive lineman, but the important thing is, we have a picture of our first Easter as a three-some.

After eating a pot-luck lunch with several of our friends, we went to the hospital to visit Jordan and Alicia Yates who had just given birth to their first daughter, Ava Grace. As Canon had already been dubbed her boyfriend, we wanted to introduce them early. Ava was born April 11, just one day shy of Canon's one month birthday. Only time will tell if these two were meant to be.

The First Days with a Baby

The next two days in the hospital went by quickly. Barry's parents (who from this point forward will be referred to as Nonna and Poppa) and Lydia spent the weekend in Dothan. MyGoo, Doc, Ann Steiner, and Amelia also visited as well as a number of friends and co-workers in Dothan. Because Canon was born so late in the night, we were able to spend an extra night in the hospital. Barry was not crazy about this idea because he had to spend another night on a hard couch. I, on the other hand, was thrilled to have an extra night of nurses. Finally, we came home on Sunday, March 15. Canon wore the same bubble-suit that Barry wore home when he was born. Nonna, Poppa, and Lydia were waiting for us when we arrived to help get us settled in. MyGoo showed up later that day to help me out with my next few days as Mom.
Those days were, surprisingly, easy. Canon was a great baby. He ate on a fairly regular schedule, slept a lot, and was easily entertained when he was awake. He loved sitting in a his vibrating rocking chair and looking around the room. He also loved to be held on my shoulder so that he could observe the world around him. Though his first bath was a little stressful (as you can see), he quickly developed a love for water, and bathtime became easier for everyone. We rocked on the porch, took walks around the neighborhood, and took mini-roadtrips around town. Target was the place we most frequented, usually to develop new pictures of Canon. We also rejoined our friends at our weekly Thursday Night Kyoto Gathering. I was thrilled to be eating the sushi I had given up during pregnancy!

I loved being home with Canon those first weeks of his life. Even Barry couldn't stay away for too long. He would occasionally come home from work in the middle of the day just to hold him. Infancy, however, was not Barry's favorite part of parenthood. At night, he was always eager to hold Canon, then hand him back five minutes later when he realized that laying there was the most Canon could do. We were both surprised to see how quickly Canon grew and developed. Soon he was smiling and playing, and Barry suddenly wanted to hold him for much longer periods of time.