learning to speak gabriel

wow, it's august already! time flies.

with mommy hood comes learning a new language. in my case, i'm learning to speak gabriel, and my hope is to be fluent by the time he's four or five months... six months at the very latest. in the toolbox is an assortment of parenting dvds and books including 'happiest baby on the block', 'the baby whisperer', 'what you need to know in the first year', and 'the dunston method' which i've viewed a few times or read through. yet, with all these cool tools on hand, it's still not easy and none of these proposed 'methods' are foolproof. feh. =|

slowly but surely i'm learning to read and understand his body language, cries and coos. most of this is trial and error -- trying all these techniques, guessing what he needs and responding appropriately (change diaper, burp, feed, make sure he's not too warm or cold, etc.). it has felt like i've been throwing everything onto the wall and seeing what sticks. thankfully some of them are sticking. gabriel and i are starting to settle into a little routine, and as my girlfriend promised -- it has gotten better. most of the mommy blues are gone and i'm feeling more and more like my old self with each day. still not 100% confident that i'm doing this right but baby is growing, nothing bad has happened so far, and we're chugging along :) i'm thrilled to share that i have learned enough to soothe him before he reaches def con five, comfort him back to sleep and know when he needs his diaper changed. progress -- i'm loving it.


speaking of progress, gabriel is now old enough to start interacting with us. nearly a week and half ago, he flashed his first genuine gummy grin at me which completely melted my heart. when he smiles, he is adorable and it's a complete transformation to his demeanor. at first it was such a surprise since i am used to his serious and somber expression. and i'm not as worried that he'll get premature forehead wrinkles -- for awhile, he was on that track with his constant serious face. but i digress -- two days after the gummy grin, he started speaking to us with his cooing. it's so much fun to play with him and to have a little dialogue going.