Feb. 3, 2000 - Thursday
Harry has several endearing behaviors, but an odd one that I find quite touching
somehow is the way he squeezes his face whenever I pull a shirt over his head.
He does it both when I'm putting a shirt on and taking one off, though especially
when it's coming off. He'll close his eyes and appear to hold his breath, and
often tilt his head back like a boy swimming trying to keep the splashing water
away from his face. I try to be gentle and lift the shirt away from his face,
but somehow it doesn't really seem to matter that much. He'll most often make
the same face regardless of the tightness of the neckline.
I often wonder during these moments whether he's re-living the birthing process
or at least using that experience to affect his actions. It would seem that
if an infant in utero can hear and remember sounds and experiences, then a major
change like the birth experience would stay with him for a time and it would
be there as a life/learning experience from which to draw. I didn't get a clear
look at his facial expression when he was born, just a glace before the nurses
whisked him into a towel and onto the scale for weighing, but what I imagine
I saw is something like this.
