Mr. Independent

You know how before you ever had a baby, you imagined what it would be like to rock them to sleep at night or hold them when they were upset? Maybe how sweet it would be to feed them a bottle or let them fall asleep on your chest? Not this baby. Not Mr. Independent. When this baby cries, it means "Put me down!" or "Give me the bottle!" or "Leave me alone!" or "Let me go to bed already!" This baby only cries when he's held.

It started a few weeks ago when I went to pick him up from Mrs. Sharon. She mentioned that he would not take his bottle earlier in the day (not surprising). He would drink a little, then push it away and try to sit up. She decided to lay him down and let him try it on his own. It worked, and we've been doing it ever since. He's still getting pretty bored with the whole bottle thing, but at least this is another way to get some fluids in.

He treats it like a sippy cup. He'll lay on his Boppy and sip for a couple of minutes, then put it down and play. After several seconds, he'll pick it back up again for another swig! He's quite the grown-up. I thought I would be upset by this new independence, but this morning I realized how great it is. I was running late, and Canon woke up on his own at 6:30. I put him in his highchair, leaned the seat back, and gave him the bottle. Then I sat down and ate a bowl of cereal. Our first breakfast together!

Eating isn't the only thing Canon does independently. He also plays alone. This isn't to say that he doesn't LOVE Barry and I to get on the floor with him. He loves to be tossed around, tickled, held by his feet, and hit in the face with a pillow. However, he also loves to sit by himself and play. This, of course, is wonderful for me. I can do laundry, unload the dishwasher, pay bills, whatever needs to be done, and never hear a sound from the little man on the floor. Will life always be this easy?

He's even trying to get out of bed on his own . . .