The conclusion: I love my baby...and if I couldn't wait to hand him off so that I could have a "break," or couldn't wait for him to sleep in another room, or didn't spend time cuddling with him, then we would not have the attachment, love, and trust that our relationship is based on. I am so thankful that my job allows me to spend only two days away from him a week. When I worked full time, I did notice that I wasn't as in-tune or responsive to his cries. As for the rest of the stuff, he's only barely 5 months old as I'm writing this, we are certainly Not behind schedule. I shouldn't let other people pressure me to parent in a way that goes against my instincts
The end to that rant. As for Corbin's milestones, he has rolled from back to front and front to back, but seems to have forgotten how to now. He is sitting up on his own, which makes play time much easier on mommy. I'm sure he'll be crawling before too long. He has been very fussy, drooly, and has been chewing on everything. He spiked a low fever last week and had a loose stool, so teeth might be showing up soon. He also loves to have his gums rubbed. He smiles at himself in the mirror, talks to his toys, laughs when we talk to him, and reaches for everything that catches his eye. His favorite thing to do is bounce on mommy and daddy's lap. Corbin loves it when we sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," or being sung to in general. He loves being read to, danced with, and tickled. Corbin is very curious, demanding, and energetic, getting bored easily. He loves being around other kids and babies. He now sleeps in the pack-n-play next to our bed because he's outgrown his bassinet. We have said goodbye to the pacifier except for long car rides and restless nights.
Christmas loaded us with a car full of toys in bad weather. His favorites: a stuffed car that he can sit in, a crawly ball, a music table, a rattle, and a book called "10 Little Penguins." His great grandpa Cottrell made him a wooden rocking horse. I'm really glad we made it through the weather to see everybody. New Years was spent with another couple who have a baby girl the same age as Corbin, much better than being stuck at home. I have to say, the Estlund's have been tremendous mentors on our new parent journey.
We have taken him to the pool at the Y a couple of times. He loves it, he'll kick his legs like a frog and splash the water. We're putting him through parent-child swim lessons in April. We are getting him baptized in May at St. Andrews Episcopal, which we are very excited about. Hopefully many more exciting things will come with warm weather.
