NOOOO GILBERT, NOOO!

I am dumb. But sometimes accidentally smart.

Miles has developed a sudden fear of the bath. Sudden, but not inexplicable, because I'm pretty sure it dates back to the night about a week ago when I decided it would be "fun" to lie him back on my arm and rinse his head off. The washcloth works fine, but this would be fun. OR terrifying! That's why I am dumb. Since then every time we put him in there he starts up a scared wailing, eyeing the faucet nervously (so maybe it wasn't my head rinse that did it? who knows?). Coping mechanisms range from making the bath as quick as humanly possible, to letting him sit on the edge and sponge bathing him, to taking a bath with him.

(A note on that: I so wish I had taken more baths with him as an infant! I was always too afraid of germs in our old old tub. I used the baby tub for as long as possible. But I really missed out, because nursing a sleepy babe in a warm bath has to be one of the all time most relaxing and pleasant experiences in the world.)

As I recall, in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, they finally got Arnie to take a bath by getting a pretty girl to lure him into a swimming hole. And that's not going to work in January. Hmmmm.

But then, I might be an accidental genius. The time came to replace Miles's binkies and I bought what I thought were the same Playtex ones he had, but turns out they are latex instead of silicone. Also, maybe a very slightly different shape. He will use them when he NEEDS a binky but he doesn't adore and cherish them like the old ones. Recently he has even taken two naps and a bedtime with NO binky (!!!). You must understand that this child has been a heavy binky addict since he was a week old so this could be HUGE. He actually got angry and threw the binky away before falling asleep quietly, each time.

Last night he threw away his binky and then, half-asleep, delivered a monologue in Baby Gibberish before drifting off. So cute. And oh yeah I think he is actually calling me Mama sometimes...?