Monday 2 November 2009

Hand Gestures


"Bored."

"I'm bored."

"I'm booooooooooooooooooooored!"

I'm translating from the original baby here, but I think it's pretty accurate.  I thought we had a good twelve years before this!

In case it's not obvious, Alex has started needing entertaining.  It's quite a change in a remarkably short space of time.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was complaining about a lack of interactivity.  If he wasn't asleep, he was eating.  If he wasn't eating, he was staring at a wall.  If he wasn't staring at a wall, he was asleep.  Crying indicated a desire to swap from one of these activities to another.

Not so now.  Something in Alex's little head has switched over and he's suddenly decided that interaction is great.  It's wonderful, but it's also surprisingly tiring.

Pick Me Up!

Alex has an "I love Hugs" baby-grow and, lo and behold, it turns out to be true.  He really does love hugs.  And he let's you know when he wants them, too.  It's a subtle variation on the "oh gods I'm falling" hand flail.  You've all seen it.  That "pick me up now" arm gesture.  He's only seven and a half weeks old though.  Is he really asking to be picked up?  Beats me, to be honest.  Probably not, but he does tend to cry if he's left lying down after doing the "pick me up" wave.

Tickle!

This one is karma coming back to bite me.  As a kid I would deposit myself on my parents and monosyllabically demand "tickle!" Then I would lie there for as long as anyone could be persuaded to tickle me.  Alex seems destined to go the same way.  Bored baby?  Give him a tickle.  Arms, legs, tummy, back, knees (a particular favourite), head or anywhere really.  Just don't stop.  Ever.  Tickling at least has the bonus of producing smiles from Alex.  That makes up for a lot.

Hold My Hand!

This is a new one.  Last night Alex seemed to decide he wanted his hand held.  (Or rather that he wanted to hold my finger.)  He did the most adult take my hand gesture and, when he'd got a finger, wouldn't let go.  Indeed, he did a big grin once he'd landed his prey.  We sat there for a while, me moving his hand about and pretending we were playing "copy the movement".  Then he did copy the movement.  I'd just waved his hand from side to side.  After I stopped, Alex thought for a moment, then waved his hand (and mine) side to side.

"Co-incidence," the rational part of my brain said.  So I waved his hand up and down.  And then he waved it up and down.

"Still co-incidence," said my rational brain.

"Stuff you," replied the dad part of my brain, and promptly commanded me to burst into tears.

In conclusion then, Alex is much more work now he can be bored, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

1 comment:

  1. great blog....wanted to say andrew but it doesnt feel right...Willow !!! anyway, enough of this baby fad thing, get back in game ;)

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