We're very lucky.
Jack is the sort of child
we all assume we'll have
when we decide to have children,
and the sort of child
less experienced parents
congratulate themselves for.January and February 2004
March and April 2004
May and June 2004
July and August 2004
September and October 2004
November and December 2004
Blogs we read:
Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2004 - (Mamma)
Language Development
Jack uses a lot of words and has very little trouble communicating the really needful stuff to Mamma and Dad. He even speaks clearly enough to elicit the occasional "correct" response from a clued-in stranger. (A recent "thank you" got a startled but pleased "You're welcome" from our downstairs neighbor -- a charming young man who patiently collects the toys Jack drops off the balcony so they don't get ruined by rain and lawnmowers and then returns them to us.)
Nonetheless, he still chatters and sounds like an overexcited budgie to the uniniated listener. You really have to "speak Jack" to understand most of what he says.
So I was startled recently, when someone asked "What language does he speak at home?"
I went to see a doctor about this nasty respiratory infection that simply wouldn't go away. (The major reason the blog hasn't been getting updated regularly. It's hard to think or write when your head is stuffy.)
The doctor was one I don't usually see, but she is in the practice with my own doctor, who was away. So, she doesn't know us. But she does have lots and lots of patients who speak any number of languages other than English at home.
Jack and I were sitting and chatting as we waited for her, and when she came in, Jack was unusually "conversational" -- he answered her friendly questions and even shared a few insights with her. ("Yes, Jack, Dr. Denise *is* wearing shoes. That's right. Very good call.")
After a few moments, she asked me "What language does he speak at home? That doesn't sound like English."
Hmmm.
To me, he sounds like Jack. But this may indicate that Jack is picking up an Aussie cadence to his language. Not surprising -- but amusing!
And more...
It doesn't happen often. But it seems I've been saying that more often lately.
Jack had trouble sleeping again last night.
He seemed fine, but tired and so we bathed, brushed our teeth, and were in bed an hour or so early.
Jack settled down easily, and was asleep within minutes. He usually nurses for 45 minutes or an hour, then rolls over and goes to sleep, and I get up to have some time with Rod (if he's home), or to myself, before I go to bed.
But an hour passed, and Jack was still nursing avidly. Then, he suddenly turned over, but instead of settling in to sleep more deeply, he lifted his head and began to cry.
For an hour and a half, the poor child cried like his world was ending! There was no sign of what the problem was -- he said no whenever we asked if it hurt. He said no when we asked if he was frightened. Of course, when you ask a crying baby a question, you can't be sure he understood and that his answer is meaningful...but it certainy wasn't enlightening, either.
We tried a dose of pain killer. That didn't seem to help. We tried a dose of decongestant, in case his ears were congested and hurt. That didn't seem to help. We tried a fresh diaper, in case he had sprouted a painful rash after his last change. No rash, no relief.
So, I held him and held him while he cried. But there was something very different about this cry. It wasn't angry, or frustrated, or restless. This cry was truly heartfelt and heart breaking.
I think it was even harder on Dad than it was on me. I at least held Jack as he cried. I was aware of Rod peeking around the door at one point, but he went away again since it was clear that there was nothing he could do, either. (We had already tried having Dad join us for a cuddle and while it didn't make anything worse, it certainly hadn't helped.)
When I gave up and carried our sobbing Jack out to the parlour, Dad was sitting alone at the table looking so lost and sad!
In the end, we never did figure out what the problem was. But as it approached midnight, and our boy continued to cry, we decided to fall back on the old standby. We went for a drive.
As we started to get ready to go, Jack was distracted, and was almost cheerful by the time we got to the car --but we drove most of the way to Dearborn before he finally fell asleep. (Almost 40 miles.)
We came home, put him in bed, and got ready to sleep ourselves ... and Jack woke up again!
Oh dear!
Fortunately he was able to fall back asleep once he was nursing again.
Sort of anyway ... he woke up again at 2:30 and again at 4:30.
I wish I knew what was causing him so much trouble sleeping. It could have been tummy pain from the medicine I'm taking for my respiratory infection, I suppose. Or growing pains. Or overexcitement about his new computer. or teething. Or...? Who knows.
Humour
Our wee budgie discovered humour some time ago, but he's been working it hard this week.
It started off with "foofing" -- the always popular "toddler joke" in which a wide open mouth is placed against Mamma's skin, and breath is exhaled, making a long, loud, wet "raspberry" sound. Hilarious! Especially because Dad is too hairy and can't be foofed.
The latest joke, though, needs some explanation.
I have my home computer's screen saver set to scroll though my photographs. For a long time, it was essentially "All Jack, all the timr". Rod was concerned that it might not be all that healthy for Jack to see himself as quite that much the center of the Universe, so I collected photographs of his friends, of animals, and other things on and off the web, that I thought would entertain Jack.
Amongst them is this photograph, which makes both Jack and I laugh.
Well, a few days ago, Jack asked to nurse at an unusual time. I wasn't busy, so I agreed, and we sat down. Jack opened his mouth, leaned in...and stopped. For a long time.
It finally dawned on me what he was doing! I laughed and explained to Dad -- and only then did Jack grin and complete the movement to nurse.
Goofy boy!
metablogging: You'll note that we now have the ability to recieve comments! You don't need to log in, so please feel free to leave comments -- we'd love to know who's stopping by and what's on your mind!
In the News
Allergen-free homes don't protect kids from asthma
Pediatricians: Bush policies are bad for kids' health
Kids key to giving language its shape
