For almost seven straight weeks, I took care of a really cute sack of potatoes.
The sack slept a lot. It ate pretty regularly. It burped. It got sweet little hiccups at least two or three times a day. It dirtied its diapers. It looked adorable in the little blue and green outfits we put on it. It fussed and cried some when it needed assistance.
But really, I got nothing back. My sole reward for doing good work was silence -- the sound of a contented sack sleeping or looking at fascinating objects.
And then, it smiled.
And that's when I remembered: Hey, that's not just a sack of potatoes to lug around! That's a baby! That's my baby!
And he likes me! He really likes me!
For the first week or so, he smiled mostly at Daddy. I'm going to assume that's because my husband is just funnier looking than I am and is not a reflection on my comedic talents.
But then he really started smiling at me. His mouth is actually huge, and when he smiles, it takes up what seems like half his head. It's so cute I can barely stand it.
And then, late last week, it got better: He cooed.
He cooed! He cooed! Amazing little breathy baby sounds directed at me! It's like we can have mini conversations about nothing now. His mouth still moves silently a lot, but sometimes he gets sound out as he's moving his tongue and his lips around, and it's a recognizable speech-type noise.
Sunday night, I lay down on the floor beside him, with my face next to his face, and we wiggled and talked for more than 20 minutes.
It was fabulous.
Soon, there'll be laughs and crazy giggles. I remember this now: the feedback for all my hard work making everything worth it.
What was the first thing your babies did that made you feel like they were starting to interact with you?
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