Eleventy today!

It's the Frog's eleventh week anniversary, and I may as well give an update.

It seems like the Frog's brain is making all kinds of new connections.  He seems to be much more engaged with his surroundings than he was a couple of weeks ago.  He loves faces, and once his gaze has latched on, it has trouble relinquishing its target.  Like one of those paintings - you know - where the eyes follow you around the room?

He's also starting to enjoy new toys and games.  They don't have to be very exciting toys or games - even a new plush toy will get his interest.  His approach to novel stimuli is fun to watch.  He starts with his hands drawn in, just looking intently.  Then he'll tentatively reach out and bat or grab at whatever has his attention.  His batting gets more vigorous as he gets his confidence up and he works out what happens as a result of his contact (bells, whistles, or merely plush stoicism).

My current game with him is "jelly fish hand".  It's not very gripping: make hand swim like jelly fish, to the accompaniment of 'blup blup' noises.  Once the Frog has his full attention on the jelly fish hand, circle about a couple of turns, then dive down onto the Frog's head, and settle there, pulsating gently and make accompanying slurping noises (this is a baby-brain eating jelly fish).  The Frog is always still and watchful as the jelly fish circles, but starts hyperventilating and kicking as it draws in for the kill.  I suppose, given he can't actually run away from this vicious predator, it must be a bit nerve-wracking for him.  Hmmm.  Perhaps a new game is in order?

Hubs latest discovery with The Frog is that the little guy is starting to explore textures.  Apparently this morning Hubs was wearing a shirt with a bold logo on - the logo was the smooth, shiny surface of some kind of material ink, against the softer, more textured surface of the cloth.  Anyway, the Frog spent a good five minutes, transfixed by the design, and stroking his fingers on the t-shirt, exploring the design, and the peculiar textures.

He's also developing different cries - no, not in the style of "I'm hungry ..waaah!", "I have gas .. waaaah!", "I'm tired..  waaaah!".  Just the distinction between a cry (see before) and a yell.  He hasn't developed the acting ability to fake a cry yet, but he tries, and the result is a cross between a grizzle and his 'chatting' noises.  He tends to make this at about 5:30am when he's woken up and wants some company - or if he's been stuck in his basket when he's alert, and really wants to be in the thick of things.  Either way, we're not fooled into thinking he's really miserable, and these days I don't tend to go into his room until 6:30am at the earliest!  I did feel a bit like a bad mother this morning - he'd been uncharacteristically silent all morning, and eventually with hideous visions of SIDS, I crept into his room at 7:30, to find him lying on his back, eyes wide open, just gazing about at nothing in particular.  He gave me a huge gummy smile when I leaned in to pick him up, and had an awesome play session.  I do wonder if I need to invest in a mobile or give him something else to look at in the mornings - or whether we as modern parents tend to get far too worked up about such things, and he'll be just fine without constant stimulation during his waking hours.  I'm dithering a bit, really.