Daddy doesn’t like being sick because it cuts into cuddle time with the kid. Among other reasons.
It’s been over a week since I’ve been able to get near Jonah, and it’s frickin’ driving me nuts. If he’s not the cutest little boy ever, he’s certainly in the top ten. I can’t fathom how anyone who sees him doesn’t just want to hug him. Now imagine how his dad feels having to stay away so he doesn’t give little Jonah a cold. That’s right: This sucks.
Jonah seems to be tolerating the deprivation of my company with a disheartening level of equanimity. He’s sleeping well, pooping regularly (though it’s surprising how much difficulty infants have passing what amounts to small curds), and feeding like nobody’s business. If he’s missing me, it’s not obvious. Of course I still talk to him from across the room, sing him songs on piano, and move into his sightline at every opportunity. Maybe I’ve not been out of his life enough for him to miss. (Too bad, kid. There’s more of me to come.)
Jonah’s able to hold his head up fairly well now, and his eyes are open and alert. He can track movement of a person or object, though he may prefer staring at complex, high contrast patterns. He keep looking at the closet organizer Dave and I put up in the nursery. I’m not sure what he’s seeing in there, but it’s got him captivated, and captivated is good when he’s laying on the changing table.
Developmentally, Jonah should be discovering his hands soon. That should be fun to watch because hands are pretty wonderful. During the first few weeks of life he was clueless about the whole thing. Whenever he’d get the slightest bit upset he’d wave his arms about and clock himself in the face. He didn’t care for that at all, but sure enough, next time around he’d punch himself again. I started thinking it was a miracle our species survived. Nowadays he still waves his arms, but he’s given up the self-boxing routine, which is obviously a step in the right direction.
Now if he can just get to the point where he’ll start grasping toys, we’ll get that boy some learnin’.