Diary of a Third Time Dad

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WEEK 39 - NOVEMBER 2003

Squeakiness.

Joshua now squeaks. Kind of like a squeezable rubber ducky. He doesn't babble. He doesn't coo very much. He has chosen to make "squeaking" his first form of verbal communication (beside crying, of course). It's kind of cute, but it's hard to imitate back at him. I'll leave the squeaking to my wife and wait until something resembling babbling begins.

Babyholders.

My wife just invented a new occupation. While babysitters, nannies, housekeepers and au pairs have been around for centuries, has anyone ever thought of hiring a "babyholder"?

The other day I held Joshua for a couple hours, and wow, you wouldn't believe what happened to our house. Cheryl went through the place like a whirlwind, and when she finally sat down next to me and Joshua, I looked around and admired our very clean house.

Her comment, "Wow, see how much I can get done when I have someone here to be the babyholder?"

Instead of hiring a babyholder, I think I'll just get Joshua's grandmother to come over more often. It's free (I think).

So I guess rice cereal is "out".

Rice cereal, for some reason, has always been considered one of those first foods that all babies need. There is a misconception that there is some crucial nutritional benefit to it, and that if babies won't take it, or any other cereal, that they are being deprived of adequate nutrition. In reality, babies don't really need rice cereal. It is just one of many mild foods that a baby can start out with.

I'm glad it isn't essential, because Joshua would have nothing to do with it.

Here's his impression of rice cereal:

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