Here We Go...

I fear that I've been making motherhood and being a parent sound too much like lollipops and rainbows.  Since sleep training has pretty much worked it's magic and I've switched my mode of thinking when running out of work to pick up The 'Rad, things have been quite peaceful and manageable on the baby front.  'Rad must be going through a growth spurt, because he's been wanting to go to bed at 6:30 pm for the past few days.  That means that the amount of time I get to spend with him each day - entertaining him, talking to him, and bouncing him - has gone down a little, leaving me more time alone with my thoughts (homework and housework), my hopes (maybe I'll get to bed before 11:00 pm tonight?), and my dreams (I'm not sure when the last time I dreamed was).

But that doesn't mean that I can't see a big, hulking hurdle on the horizon: solid foods.  I'm excited about it, and it's not so much a hurdle as it is a big, hulking step.  I've been thinking about it all week.  How will it change his feeding schedule?  How will it change our daily routines?  How will it affect him (e.g. how long and how well he sleeps, his poops, his temperament)?  How do I do it, for godssake?  Someone at work told me that it's a very intense interaction because you're eye-to-eye with your babe, not looking down on him when he's breastfeeding or downing a bottle.  I think about how intense it will be to have to wash all of his bottle parts plus baby dishes and spoons.  'Rad is ready for it, though.  When I feed him his bottle at night, he's been looking at me as if to say, "That's all you got?  You've got to be kidding me, lady!"  He's also been sticking his tongue out from time to time when he sees us eating breakfast.

Add to that the fact that the kid has been sitting up on his own, and I think we've hit the beginning of the end.  From rice cereal we'll move to baby food and chunks of "real" food.  From sitting up, he'll start creeping then crawling then we'll need to baby-proof the place and put latches on the cabinets and lock the door to the basement then put away and knick-knacks and I need to stop so I will.  But anyway, yeah, he's been sitting up on his own over the past few days.  His form is far from perfect; if propped up on the bed he'll pull himself up so he's sitting unsupported, then quietly roll forward until he plants the corner of his face softly on the mattress.  He's no longer contented to just recline and lounge like the bouncy seat encourages.  The man wants to round out the flat spot on the back of his head!