It’s a Tooth!
March 24, 2003 – 1:35 pmLiam’s first tooth is coming in. We can just barely see a gleam of white when he opens his mouth, and if we put a finger in there we can feel the sharpness of it. Jen says Liam’s breastfeeding days are coming to an end. Apparently babies are supposed to cover their teeth with their lips when they nurse, but baby Liam didn’t read that chapter in the baby rule book.
He’s very close to crawling, too. He can scoot himself backward across the room, but that doesn’t really do him much good. In fact, it frustrates him sometimes: he can see the toy he wants and he is trying to reach it but it just keeps getting further and further away. Poor guy. I think we’re going to be sorry when he does become mobile, I have a feeling he is going to be all over the place. Jen is afraid he might have ADD because his attention span is sketchy at best, even while eating. He will take a few swallows from a bottle and then strain mightily to sit up, or look around to see what’s going on. He does this even in a dark room or with a blanket over his head during feedings.
There have a been a couple of occasions lately where the most mundane things have sent him into fits of laughter. There is no sound on this earth as sweet or pure as a baby’s spontaneous laughter. The first was at my in laws’ house. We were there for dinner and Liam was on the floor playing with a pile of toys. One of the things he was playing with was an inflatable rabbit about 12 to 15 inches tall. At one point something knocked the bunny over and Liam just thought that was the greatest thing. I must’ve knocked that bunny over a good 25 times before it become commonplace to him and he wouldn’t laugh at it anymore. Another time was a week or two ago in his bath. He has a couple of little rubber duckies that squeak when you squeeze them. If you squeeze them underwater, they suck in the water and become filled. Jen was filling a ducky with water and then squirting it back out on Liam’s tummy. I never heard a kid laugh so much, it was hilarious. It’s never until afterward that we smack ourselves for not getting out the camcorder. The most recent was just this past weekend. Jen was changing his diaper, he was lying on his back on our bed. Jen was dropping his mukluks (slippers) onto him from above and he just laughed and laughed and laughed. I did catch the end of that one on video.
Having such a happy, laughing baby is the best part of being a dad. Well, that and when he falls asleep on me. It’s a wonderful thing to have your child love you and trust you enough to fall asleep in your arms. Have I mentioned how much I love being a dad?
4 Responses to “It’s a Tooth!”
We never seem to get our camcorder out in time either. However we have managed to catch a couple of good ones here and there. Enjoy this time! Mine is entering the terrible twos. Although the interaction is great, the tamtrums can be challenging!!
By Pamela on Mar 25, 2003
PLEASE – dont even suggest that your kid might have ADD!
I see parents doing that all the time and it kills me… often its just a parent surprised at how active little ones are!
The last thing you wanna do is suggest it to a doctor, poor Liam will be Ritalin’d up the wazoo before you know it!
You sound like a great Dad though – everything will be fine!
By Amanda on Apr 1, 2003
I appreciate your concern, but honestly we only say he has ADD as a joke. He’s just active and very curious about anything and everything that is going on around him. You do have a valid point, however, about mentioning ADD to a doctor – we will be careful about that. And he won’t take Ritalin, or any other medication, unless we want him to, regardless of what the doctor may say. Thanks for your comment.
By Aaron on Apr 1, 2003
You may thank God that Liam is doing all his looking around. This might mean that his eyes are getting sharper and that he can focus on objects farther away. He might be seeing things “in a differant light”, so to speak. I didn’t think about my son having ADD when he did this, but I do know that my son has amazingly sharp eyes now and he can see things so far. I thought I had good eyes.
By John Reighard on Sep 19, 2003