Thursday, November 13, 2008

Good Rhythm

By Babymom.com
13 Nov 2008

He wakes up spitting mad, hungry as hell and contorted with colic
He latches onto my breast hungrily and pants pants pants while he feeds
Then after about 10 minutes he falls asleep
I let him sleep in my arms - this first little sleep usually only lasts 2 minutes
Then he wakes and proceeds to stre-e-e-tch
He looks like buzz lightyear when he stretches - his one arm aimed heavenward, the other straight down
Then he feeds calmly for a while
Then a giant fart-poo ensues
Accompanied by angry contortions
And sporting his poo face – brows furrowed, eyes slightly cross-eyed and little lips pursed
Then we move to the nappy changing area
And spend a few minutes lifting and stretching his legs or stroking his tummy till the rest of the poo comes out!
Sometimes we sing and play to distract him, which usually helps with the poo
Finally, with a clean nappy and smelling sweet again, we play on the bed for about 30 minutes
Mostly we sing together, but sometimes I leave him to stare out the window or at the leaf pattern on our bedframe
Finally we go back to the final round of breast feeding
This time he is calm and feeds methodically, yet leisurely
He falls asleep and I hold him for a few minutes (enjoying his supine body!)
And then gently wake him before he goes too far into sleep, and lay him in his pram
He looks bewildered and angry for a moment
I park the pram looking onto the golden curtains in the lounge
His face melts into calm
And he goes to sleep

He sings!

By Babymom.com
13 Nov 2008

Well little Tim has delighted us all with his little singing voice
His favorite song is ‘Que sera sera’ which is Italian for ‘what ever will be, will be’
He accompanies me in a perfect little high pitched voice
Complete with little flurries and harmonies
His little face all smiles and gurgle mouth
His eyes bright and twinkly
His fingers stroking the air
He can currently handle two rounds of the chorus
Before returning to his usual state of inscrutable meditation

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Who does Tim look like?

Tim has his father’s long strong toes, powerful hands and thunderous brow
You can see parts of me in his little face
Dark Chinesey eyes
A commanding nose (which comes from my mom’s Angolan family)
Plump lips
While his jaw is delicate and pointy

When you put his little face together
He looks a bit like my brother Andre
Except for that Joker’s grin
Which is pure Doherty
Does this mean he’s got the Doherty sense of humor?
We’re also hoping he gets the great Doherty cheekbones

Zooming out, he has sallow skin
And dark hair
Even on his little ears
So Portuguese
Bless the young Wolverine!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Upside down loving

By Babymom.com
3 Nov 2008

The doctor told me to sit behind him while I put his little nose drops in
So I lay him down on the bed and kneeling behind his little head
I squeezed 2 drops into each nostril
Tim scrunched his face up in distaste as some errant drops trickled into his eyes and mouth as a result of my clumsy maneuvers
I cradled his tiny feather soft head in my hands and gently tilted it back
Then I slipped a finger quietly behind each ear
Stroking him gently
And I brought my face up really close
Tim was enchanted at seeing me upside down while I tickled gently behind the ears
And within seconds he was in gurgling heaven
Bright-eyes loving me
Purring like a kitten

Monday, October 27, 2008

Tim's Nature

By Babymom.com
26 Oct 2008

Tim is an old soul
A thoughtful baby with a heavy-duty philosophers frown
(Which I’ve learnt means ‘Do Not Disturb’)

He loves the light
And will gyrate his body inside out to gaze enrapt
He loves being outdoors
Surrounded by the dappled light of trees and the gurgling fountain
He raises his eyes skyward, hungry like a baby eagle

He’s a quiet guy
Doesn’t cry much, uses his voice sparingly
Prefers to warn with a short sharp snort
(Usually when I try massage his little feet while he’s wearing his Do Not Disturb sign!)


He is much more animated in his dreamlife
Where he regularly smiles, whimpers and sucks imaginary breasts
What is he experiencing?
A few nights ago Christo was doing the nightshift
When Tim started laughing in his sleep
A deep belly laugh that rocked his little body over and over again

I can’t wait for his laugh to spill into his waking life

Saturday, October 25, 2008

The Tortoise and the Dassie


By Babymom.com
25 Oct 2008

Sometimes Tim is like an old tortoise
Wizened little head and crinkled neck searching
Lips pursed to make a little beak

Sometimes he is a dassie
A chubby little block of mammal
Inclined inert across my lap as he feeds

But when he is still
His face a Chinese painting of dashes and noughts
He is a little human baby
Newly arrived on planet earth!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Repeat it, repeat it, repeat it

By Zombimom.com
21 Oct 2008

They take a time honored event and repeat it, repeat it, repeat it,
Until something new enters the world

- Don DeLillo, Mao II


Repetition is quite a formidable force
A bit bludgeoning
Life goes by in a swirl of cycles and cycle fragments
Wake, feed, burp, hold, nappy, feed, burp, hold, play, settle, sleep
Takes 1-2 hrs and happens around 8 times a day
A complex percussion