CHILL!!! Goal accomplished.

Yesterday, I did nothing on any list. NOTHING. And it was nice! I made a conscious effort to just chill. I didn't fuss about getting Quint's food ready quickly enough. I didn't berate myself for sitting down to feed him without everything I needed. When he signed that he was done, I stopped trying then and didn't force the last two bites on him.

We all went on a walk. I didn't get stressed when it took us at least 45 minutes to get it together to get out the door. We did eventually get out the door, had our lovely little walk, and even had ice cream (me and Quint) and boiled peanuts (Hubby) at Habib's on the way. I didn't stress about how Quint and I walked all the way back to the house slightly sticky and chocolatly all over due to the ice cream. We went on a tiny shopping trip right after the walk and I didn't stress about being icky or not getting cool first.

After we cooled off, I got to hear my baby laugh while I tickled him and looked for new teeth. When he started to cry when I put him in his sleeper, I thought, maybe he hates this sleeper and that's why he's cried so passionately the last couple nights. Even though I had nearly done up all the 14 million buttons on that thing, I took it off him. I spread out three other sleepers, had him feel them with his hand, and let him pick. Minimal fussiness while doing up those 14 million buttons. And most importantly, NO PASSIONATE CRYING 2 OR 3 TIMES IN THE NIGHT for no apparent reason.

This passionate crying is usually accompanied by frustrated fist and shoulder clenches and an obvious "why don't you people get it!?" look. He doesn't want to nurse. He will calm while rocking, but standing and bouncing is the best bet for this problem. Maybe it's the monkey sleeper. Further research to come.

All in all, a very pleasant night!!

Comprehension!

Last night, communication with my little boy was most rewarding. He's nearly 10 months old, can only say Mama, Abwa, and GA! but I understood him completely last night. And he seemed to understand me too!

Soon after we got home, we sat down to feed him his supper of mixed veggies. He ate a few bites but didn't seem that interested. I said, "Don't you want to eat your supper?" He no in the form of "uh-uh" and shook his head back and forth. I tried a cracker and he ate another bite or two, but that was it. So I let him down to play.

He went down for a nap at 6:45 and woke up at about 8:15. I had put him down at his first eye rub using both hands. When I put him in his crib, he smiled at me, didn't even whimper and knocked right out.

When he woke up later, I had just made my own dinner of mac and cheese. We were playing in my office. He saw me stirring in the cheese and deliberately crawled right over to me smacking his lips. I was sitting in a chair and he tried to crawl up my leg into my lap. "Gee, honey," I said. "Are you hungry by any chance?" He grunted a single note and smacked his lips more. "Ok, honey, I'll reheat your dinner as soon as I'm done with mine." In the mean time, I put down some cheerios for him which he gobbled down.

After re-heating his mixed veggies, I got a sippy cup and a bib and went back to my office where he was crawling/climbing into his enormous toy basked and had realized that the floor of the basket was rough on his feet/knees. He was upset until he saw the bowl. I spread out a blanket on the floor as a drop cloth and plopped him in the middle of it. He clapped through the first few bites. He was gobbling down his mixed veggies but then started to crawl away. I pushed his little thigh back down on the blanket and said, "if you want to eat, you have to sit." He blinked at me and took another couple bites. He started to crawl off again. I pushed his little thigh back down and said, "if you want to eat, you have to sit. Do you want to keep eating?" Single grunt of assent. Several more bites taken. He tried to crawl off again. "Quint, you have to sit if you want to eat." Arms at 90 degree angles, fists clasped, grunt of agitation. Then a shrug, relaxing of the arms, and his mouth popped open for another bite. He stayed sitting for the rest of his meal.

How's that for clear body language!