Jan.
12, 2000 - Wednesday
New signs of intelligent life:
I'm sure Harry is starting to understand our diaper changing routine because
this morning when I changed him I was sure he was cooperating by raising his
left leg, the one that I usually lift to maneuver the diapers below him. Trying
not to be a completely awestruck parent and knowing that coincidence was just
as likely a explanation, I paid attention the next couple times I changed him.
At one point I even moved my hand toward his leg in the usual course of events,
but hesitated before grasping it. Sure enough, he lifted it to meet my hand.
Ah, he's a prodigy again.
Now, the chances that that's a sign of true conscious thinking are quite remote,
but that doesn't really matter. What's fascinating is that Harry is apparently
aware of a pattern in a classic Pavlovian manner and reacting to it. On the
other hand, Harry never seems to like when we swab around his umbilical cord
stump with the prescribed alcohol, but never protests in advance, nor squirms
when that part of the routine comes around. I hoping that means it's really
not that uncomfortable for him. In fact, I just keep hoping that his complaints
are of the annoyance of my poking around his belly with a Q-Tip rather than
the alcohol actually seeping into a flesh opening. I usually convince myself
that his protests would be sharper if it were the latter.
On a side note, I should credit the nurses at the hospital for given me the
confidence to yank on Harry's leg at all. Our hospital allowed me to go with
Harry wherever they took him and that gave me the opportunity to witness, at
least on a couple occasions, how experienced professionals maneuver babies.
And, I clearly intimated that our boy was not a fragile piece of china and would
be happy to let me know if I was doing something he really didn't approve of.
