Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Talented Enzo Raines

Guess who flipped himself over?  While at work on Monday, I got a call from Tami telling me that Enzo had lifted himself on his elbows and flipped over to his back.  It was fun to hear about Enzo's accomplishment but it was also just great to be interrupted in my day at work to think about, and hear about, my son.  That night in class, another student/teacher, whom I have rarely spoken to, asked me about my child.  I was SO excited to tell her about Enzo and about him flipping over.  I was smiling and after our brief discussion I found myself thanking her for giving me a reason to talk about my son as it makes me so happy.  A mother herself, she just smiled and said "Yes, I know."

On Sunday my parents and my sister joined us for a walk around the lake at Vasona Park in Los Gatos.  It was good to get out into the world on such a beautiful day.  I think my mom got a kick out of watching Enzo pee on a tree.  Yes, he is only 12 weeks old tomorrow, but he pees outside once in a while.  Tami learned about how, if you pay attention, you can tell when a baby wants to pee or poop, not just react to the fact that they have already wet a diaper, but tell before they go.  Then, you can remove their diaper and they can go.  It's cool because, besides having less diapers to wash, our child spends a lot less time in wet diapers.  It's neat how Tami can tell so often.  There are days when Enzo will go half the day without sitting in a wet diaper once.  Neat.  I'm only just starting to get the hang of noticing before he wants to go.  It's interesting, he gets a little fussy but not so much as if he has wet his diaper.  It's the kind of thing you might not notice if you were not looking for it, if you didn't know there was a sign or meaning to it.  You might just go "What's up Kid?" then pick him up and he would go back to normal.  But, a couple of minutes later he would fuss again, uncomfortable, and you might try distracting him then except that this time he will have a wet diaper.  Or, you could know what that little initial frustration means, understand it as a sign, a communication, and help him go to the bathroom.  At home we have a little potty for him that Tami supports him on when she picks up on Enzo's signals.  But sometimes, out in nature, he goes on the trees, just like his daddy!  It's so funny to me that he learned how to pee outside from his mom first.

Impressed with my wife, I am trying to develop my own senses in understanding my child's subtle communication.  Last night I think I may have actually read his mind!  Well, I can't be sure but a thought popped into my mind that seemed to be coming from Enzo.  Just as he was finished eating, and getting ready to doze off, he unlatched, looked up at his adoring mother and thought "I wonder where the boob is that mommy eats from.  It must be huge!"

To the ever increasing list of things I love about my son, I have added another experience.  It's always such a warm feeling to hold him close with his head looking over my shoulder.  I love it.  But there is something even cooler.  Sometimes he puts his other hand, the one not on the shoulder he is looking over, up as though to hold on to my shirt, chest or neck.  It's a subtle difference but somehow it feels even more awesome.  It somehow seems to imply to my psyche that he is reaching out to me, not just a passive observer over my shoulder, but that he also wants to actively hold and touch and love me back.  I'm okay with knowing his mind is not thinking these things, but it triggers the feelings within me as if he were.  And, I love it.  I took a picture of this when I got home last night so you can see what I am talking about.  Fantastic!  As tired as I was at that moment, holding Enzo energized and soothed me.  That little gesture of his hand made it even better.