When J was little I had a really cute nickname for her. Well, she doesn't think it was cute now, and I guess it wasn't terribly complimentary, but it was used with all the sentiments behind a mother’s pet name for her child. I won’t tell you what I used to call her though, because she would be embarrassed.
Anyway, I've been trying out some nicknames for Aidric but haven't quite hit upon the perfect one yet.
One of them is 'frog boy' on account of the way he looks when he lays on my chest with his little legs pulled up under him. He looks like one of those little rainforest tree frogs. See here is a picture of him at a few days old in his frog pose.
I know huh!!!!! What a cutie!!!!!
Yeah, well, anyway, ‘frog boy’ seems too long for a nickname. The other one I’ve been using is also too long, it’s ‘lizard boy’ because of the way he sticks his tongue out repeatedly when he’s hungry, as if he’s testing the air for the nearness of his next meal.
Of course there are always the obvious favorites like ‘Poopie Pants’ or the more generic ‘stinker’, but they seem to lack the cuteness and charm called for in a nickname, not to mention that, like J’s nickname, they’re not something you want to own up to when you get older.
Oh, well, I’ll keep looking.
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Sometimes when I’m feeding him or changing his diaper Aidric seems to focus on something just over my right shoulder. He coos at whatever it is he sees there and sometimes smiles or even laughs; sometimes he makes that knitted eyebrow concerned look too.
I imagine that he sees my grandmother there watching him from over my shoulder. When he laughs and smiles I imagine that she is singing that tune she used to sing to us when we were small, the one she sang to every baby she ever held. Do you know which one I mean?
When he gets that concerned look I think she must be doling out all of those words of wisdom she used to pepper us with as we were growing up.
I know she would have been absolutely nuts over Aidric and I’m sorry that she never new him or off him. And I’m sorry that Aidric will never really get to know her like all the rest of us did.
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I need an English speaking baby consultant. I mean if I need advice I can call the midwife who I went to for birthing training, but it’s hard to really ask questions and fully comprehend the answers in French.
Stuff like how do I get the little monster to burp? He hates to burp, it takes longer to burp the kid than it does to feed him. Is it normal for him to get so red in the face and work so hard to poop? While we were still in the hospital they insisted that I bathe the kid every day, but Margaret always told us that it was bad to bathe a kid every day because it dried out their skin to much, that every other day would suffice. Who’s right?
Do you think that Laverne would move to France to be my personal baby consultant/nanny?
Well, that’s all for now. I have to move quickly during the times that he sleeps. So much to do and so little uninterrupted time.
