My son's favourite pastimes

It is a tough life being a baby. They’ve got to spend time getting people’s attention to get them some food or to clean out the diaper they spent minutes filling up. In between all that hard work, there is some time for play. Everett has a few hobbies that he enjoys most during his free time.

Tummy Time: We tried doing “tummy time” shortly after he was born, but it was hard to stay motivated for the first month. It wasn’t all that exciting watching Everett imitate a rock, and I wasn’t really sure what value he got from sucking the blanket. At the end of February, “tummy time” was far more exciting as Everett popped up his head and started to examine his surroundings from this new perspective. Since that time, he has lifted his head higher and held up his head for an extended period time. I’m not really sure if Everett finds “tummy time” fun, but rather he is just trying to find ways to avoid squishing his nose against the floor. It is great fun for me watching my son’s neck strength improve and realize he’s staying on pace with those pesky growth charts.

Playing with Toys: Okay, Everett doesn’t actually play with toys at this stage. We wave a toy in front of his face or we’ll get a toy to squeak, and he’ll usually laugh and smile at it. But staring and smiling is about the extent of his playing. We can occasionally sneak the toy into his hand, but usually it gets dropped so he can play his preferred game. . .

Fist Staring: It doesn’t sound thrilling, but it has captivated the imagination of my son. If there isn’t much else going on (or even if there is a parade or fireworks), he’ll spend several minutes examining one of his fists. Once the staring gets too dull, he’ll suck on his fist just in case there is chance other body parts can produce milk. Everett has learned they can’t.

Mobile Staring: This is definitely different than fist staring. He doesn’t ever put the mobile into his mouth, though that could be partly due to the fact he can’t reach it. But the other big difference is he often doesn’t just stare blankly at the mobile. He’ll share stories of the day with his mobile, and then usually laugh when it doesn’t give an opinion.

Laughing and Talking with Daddy: Now, there can also be “laughing and talking with mommy” or “laughing and talking with grandparents”, but this is my blog, so there. This is definitely the best of all Everett’s pastimes, and must easily be his favourite. It has been happening with far more frequency the last few weeks, and he has started to tell me many new stories. He has recently added the “squeal of utter delight” to his vocal repertoire, and that joyous noise rockets me up into the clouds every time.

Story Time: This has started to become our before bedtime ritual. At this point, the goal is to just get Everett interested in having a book read to him. He does often enjoy looking at the pictures, and has even given a smile to a few stories. Though he will sometimes decide the dog on the floor or the fist attached to his arm is more amusing.

This is just the beginning to Everett’s favourite pastimes, and I look forward to creating and witnessing more in the many months ahead.