Gassy McFarty, The Exorcist, and Meerkats

I have all kinds of cute nicknames for Charlie – Sweet Pea, Honey Bun, Cutie Pie, and my personal favorite, Monkey (he makes the cutest eee-ooo-eee noises). But sometimes I can’t help myself when he is doing his gassy thing. One time it just sort of came out of my mouth – “Hello Gassy McFarty!” Poor little guy. He’s still having gas problems and there’s not much we can do.

Charlie likes to fall asleep with his eyes half-open. The first time I saw this it freaked me out because his eyes rolled towards the back of his head and his body jerked. I couldn’t tell whether he was having a seizure or whether we needed to call an Exorcist. I am going to assume most newborns do this but I had never seen it before. The best part about this phase of sleep is that he seems to practice various emotions. He smiles and laughs, frowns and cries, all while sleeping. His sleeping smiles are huge, and he literally laughs. Marisa says if you laugh while he does this he’ll laugh more. The problem is that since his eyes are partly open, I am still unsure as to whether he has had an awake smile. I think he has, but I would not put money on it.

Every parent thinks their kid is so smart and strong and advanced for their age. But I have to say that he holds his head up quite well for a 6-week-old. My favorite burping position for him is to take one hand and hold him under his armpits (thumb in one armpit and fingers under the other)  with my palm on his chest and belly, so that he is leaning forward a little on my hand. It works well if he will sit on my leg and bend over my hand. But lately he loves to raise his head and straighten his legs so he’s standing up straight and looking around. In this position he reminds me of a Meerkat (http://www.friedmanarchives.com/Animals/images/Meerkat%208×10%20300%20dpi.jpg)  or a Prairie Dog.