A Bump in the Road: Talkative, Bath Tub-Hating, NASCAR Enthusiast

That's right. That is where little Cohen is in life these days. He is growing into such a pint-sized person lately with his own personality, likes and dislikes, and habits. His latest interest and passion we (and he) have discovered is NASCAR. Much to Chris's delight, Cohen watched the race with much excitement, attention, and awe for more than an hour the other week. We put him in his swing facing the race and he was completely mesmerized by the sound and colors and the little cars going round and round the track! He was also talking non-stop as if to exclaim to us all these things he was seeing. He wouldn't even look at us or acknowledge us during this time. So, I went over and recorded this latest hobby of his:

Usually I can't record him or snap pictures of him very easily. I have been attempting to catch Cohen's smile on camera or camcorder for weeks now and he has that radar that goes off when I am looming with one of them. When I approach, he immediately stops whatever he is doing and scowls at me with a look on his face that tells me he is not a circus monkey and he will not be cooperating.

The other big deal is trying to get him to take a bath in an infant tub. He is not having it. Chris has been humoring me as I attempt different approaches and purchase different styles of tubs, foolishly thinking it will make a difference and he will magically appreciate all of the special features that attracted me to the tub. I almost made the huge mistake of buying the top of the line "whirl pool" infant bath that was only marginally on sale, but when I was hauling it to the check-out Chris oh-so-calmly asked what kind of batteries it took and read off the box, 10 "C" batteries, I kept on walking back to the shelf. I think the problem is we were instructed to sponge bathe Cohen longer than usual because of medicine the doctor put in his belly button. So now, when we lower him gently into a warm just-his-size tub, he screams and flails his arms and legs and the tears fall. We have given up for now. We are optimistic that once he is able to hold his head up completely and especially sit up, he will not be so frightened by this ritual we make him participate in.

Cohen's recent schedule or lack thereof has been exhausting. On Saturday, Cohen woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 3AM, ready to start the day. Chris and I alternated entertaining him, but nothing could redeem the way we were left feeling that day. Then just yesterday, Cohen took a four hour nap even though I know we are not to let him sleep more than three hours during the day. He was just so peaceful! And lately his naps have been shorter and easily interrupted. Anyway, it took us three hours to get him to bed at night. We finally drug ourselves into bed at 11 PM exhausted from the "wear Cohen out" activities. He is still sleeping 5-9 hours at night, but the way he breaks them up are killers!

Cohen recently reminded us he has graduated from "newborn" to "infant" when Chris attempted one of the soothing techniques we learned in class by loudly shhhhshing him when he was fussy and he instantly broke into tears . Things are changing, for sure. Cohen loves to roll on his right side and pivot himself around in a half circle. He is pulling my hair and honking our noses as he reaches for anything and everything. He now does tummy time propped up on the boppy with a musical turtle in front of him that he pushes the buttons to re-start the music when it has stopped! Whenever we go anywhere, Cohen wants out of his car seat and to be carried around to see everything going on around him. We are trying to keep up and adapt to Cohen's ever-changing abilities and preferences. It is quite a ride!