A Little Bit about Our Little Bit

Our Little Bit is four and a half months old now, and here is what we know about him. He smiles often, melting our hearts. He laughs out loud, filling us with joy. He slobbers a lot or, as the Bub would say, "a lot, a lot." He is a cuddle bug who until recently (as in, four nights ago when the hubby finally moved the crib out of the danger zone of Bub's room so Little Bit could start sleeping in it) did his best sleeping in bed between mommy and daddy. Whether he is wide awake and curious or ready to be soothed to sleep, Little Bit likes to be held facing outward. Little Bit loves bath time, especially when mommy lets him slurp on his wash cloth a little. Not to brag, but he loves his mommy (daddy too, of course) and will light up when he hears my voice or sees my face. His fingernails grow at the speed of light, and I am sad to report that, despite my clipping efforts, he pretty much always has some scratches on his face (and I, thanks to his affection, have scratches on my neck). He loves to grab my hair and hold on tight. He is not overly fond of bottles, but will take one in a pinch if the bottle-giver is willing to be patient and persistent. He very rarely cries in an inconsolable fashion. In general, he seems happy and content, far less restless than his older brother was at the same age. Little Bit will almost always fall asleep in his infant seat if you take him on a strategically-timed car ride or stroller walk. He adores his big brother and looks at him with pure admiration and enthusiasm, as if to say, "Whatever you say or do buddy, I'm with you." He laughs and smiles when the Bub gives him any kind of attention at all.

In short, Little Bit is so, so sweet.

Of course, there's still much we don't know about our Little Bit. There are the long-term unknowns--his passions, talents, dreams, goals--that my husband and I will delight in discovering and nurturing. There are near-term unknowns as well. For one, nights are still a crap shoot around here. We had a good stretch a couple of months ago wherein he woke up only once per night. That's no longer the case, and I am often feeding him two and even three times a night these days. Though he naps far better than the Bub ever did in his first few months, his naps are not yet long, regular, or taken in his crib. Other questions are still unanswered: Will his eyes remain bright blue like daddy's or turn hazel like mommy's and big brother Bub's? At what point will he begin sleeping through the night and taking regular naps? Will he be an early crawler yet late walker like his big brother? Will he like rice cereal when it's time or make a big mess of it? How long will he be nursing? Will he eat Gerber baby food lasagna as frequently and enthusiastically as his big brother did? Will he jump out of his crib before we are prepared for it (also like his brother)? Will he too become a master of the code brown? Will he one day resent us for comparing him to his big brother all the time?

These unknowns are less scary this time around. I don't find myself scouring parenting websites, consulting sleep books, and interrogating other moms as I did last time. It's not that I have all the answers, far from it. Rather, I think that I understand, more than I did with the Bub, that everything is a process and that what works for one child and his mom may not be right for another pair. When the Bub was an infant, I found myself frustrated when I did not know the answers and spent far too much time feeling like an inadequate, incompetent fraud of a mom. This time, I know to be patient with Little Bit and with myself. Everything will be okay, and the most important things are already okay and are even pretty wonderful, especially when I just let myself enjoy the journey. Whatever mistakes are made, I know that Little Bit will always know that his dad and I love him "a lot, a lot."


Little Bit's preferred "get to sleep" hold. Daddy (aka The Sandman) excels at this one.


Did I mention how sweet Little Bit is? NTB, but how can you doubt his sweetness when looking at this photo?


Bub loves to jump up and down so Little Bit loves to jump up and down (with Daddy's help).

And now, let me share a few lines from the Supertramp song I've been singing to myself since I heard it on the radio last week:
"Give a little bit / Give a little bit of your love to me / Give a little bit / I'll give a little bit of my love to you / There's so much that we need to share / So send a smile and show you care / I'll give a little bit / I'll give a little bit of my life for you . . ."

And of course, for my Little Bit, I want to replace "little bit" with "a lot, a lot."