Lately, I've been feeling low. Maybe it's because I've been ill since Friday. Nausea, fever, runny nose, sore throat, giddiness... the works. Fuzzy has been plagued with the same symptoms too. The sticky air and oppressively hot weather does not help. Or perhaps it's due to Chubbs' refusal to eat his semi-solids. It's been a losing uphill battle, feeding him his mini breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I've gotten food flung in my hair, in my eyes, splashed on my feet etc., it's sticky all over, and I've probably used more kitchen towels over the past week than I have in my lifetime. He has also tasked himself to figure out how to unfasten the buckle on his high-chair and what the back board of his high-chair tastes like. Or maybe it's the entire hour I take to walk Chubbs to sleep, pacing the room, while carrying a 9kg load over my shoulder (the only way he wants to be carried nowadays), three or four times a day, everyday. I've read that some babies cry hysterically when they are left alone to fall asleep, and yearn to be picked up. Not my boy. He's happy if I leave him in his cot instead, because he is then free to crawl, roll, rake up the mattress, chew on his blankie, pull up his bedspread, wrestle his bolster, untie all the knots on his bumpers... The past couple of weeks have been seriously exhausting.
A much-needed rest.
The highlights of my day come when I play with Chubbs or when I watch him master a new skill. He has just perfected the art of going from crawling to sitting. The very first time he accomplished this, he steadied himself after landing on his bum, put both hands on his hips and gave me a beaming smile. It's no wonder he's tremendously proud of himself. The sit-from-crawl manoeuvre is something he has been practising for months, rocking back and forth on his knees.
From crawling...
To sitting!
Fuzzy and I recently bought a new set of toys at a sale. A safari animal stacking set that makes elephant, monkey and lion sounds. It's been adorable watching Chubbs play with them. He loves turning the wheels with his index finger and crashing into the animals, making them fall after I stack them up.
"This is a monkey..."
"And this is how I eat it!"
I can only pray that Chubbs is just going through a phase where some things excite him more than food and rest. A consolation is that he is still maintaining his milk intake, which should be his main source of nutrition for the first year. Meanwhile, I'll just take each day as it comes.
