The Bimbo Chair

Every so often you come across an invention that just rocks. Having a baby has triggered the portion of my brain that was meant to invent awesome toys and common sense baby items. Inventions like the bouncy chair and baby swing have revolutionized the world of parenting. Now you can leave ’em all alone for a good five minutes and they are sufficiently entertained and safe. I pity the pre-Fischer Price era.

Yet another invention has caught my attention. Recently Emerson’s Aunt Brenda watched her for the day – a mother of 2 boys who seem to have the coolest toys ever. Not an abundance mind you, just cool. I drop Em off and Brenda asks if I have a “Bumbo Chair” and if Emerson has ever been in one. Why no, in fact she had not. The very sound of it was intriguing, and thus, Brenda busted out the Bumbo Chair… a foamy-like small seat for babies who can’t yet fully sit on their own. We put her in the Bumbo and stepped back a few feet and I had to laugh. This was hilarious. My little sack of ‘tatoes looked like a wee person in her little chair. She seemed equally pleased, looking around and realizing she was sitting all on her own surrounded by the bright cornucopia of Moore boy toys.

Obviously she had to have one. This was too great.

So, pictured here is Em in her Bumbo Chair, which I can’t bring myself to say because Bimbo Chair is just a little more fun. I wish I would have thought of this! The only problem our little jello bowl has with this fabulous deriere holder is her Super-Sized thighs, which force you to bring the whole chair along when trying to lift her out of it. Also entertaining, so I shall not complain.

Baby’s Too Bendalicious

At around 4 to 5 months old, babies learn how to roll onto their tummies. Some sooner, some later, but either way, this means a lot in terms of range of motion, which greatly increases along with the tendency to to find trouble. In Emerson’s case, and I’m sure in the case of countless other babies, finding new and utterly bizarre positions to sleep in is the new black.

True story: Wednesday when Vic was home with Emerson he put her down for a nap. She did her usual moan and groan followed by the long silence that means success. Upon checking on her he found her as such…

Needless to say, Vic was freaked out. Her head was pushed into a bumper and she had positioned herself exactly perpendicular to the spot in which was put in! This would freak any parent out, heck, if I saw Vic sleeping like that I’d be freaked out.

Emerson didn’t seem to be phased. Since what I will call the “Exorcist Moment” occurred, Little Miss Parker has been found in several other positions the likes of which would make Gumbi proud.

Never fear, people. She was put in a decent position after Daddio snapped some documenting shots.

One thing is for certain, every time she pulls one of these Cirque-du-Soleil feats, we startle, laugh a little and move her… much to her dismay. Apparently she finds this comfortable.

Solid

Every time your baby is introduced to a new phase of life, it seems that the members of the alumni chapter of this sorority we call motherhood chant in a ritual-like manner: “Just wait… everything changes now.” This information is not only useless, but entirely obvious. However, apart from crawling, I hear just how much everything changes when it comes to solid foods. The process, the mess, the poohs… it’s all bigger, badder and stinkier. Our induction to the world of solid foods has been, well, exactly what they said.

We first gave solid foods a try about 2 weeks ago – the response a cartoon-ish sour lemon face. But with a little coaxing and a “full court press” approach, Emerson is coming around to the idea. The doc told us to feed her a little and then put the bottle in her mouth, which is a truly messy endeavor. All in all, she’s probably only digested a few spoonfuls of the stuff, but she anxiously awaits the bottle follow-up. I fear that I’m Pavloving her into believing every spoonful is just a precursor to the goods… but as in everything child-rearing related, we’ll deal with that when we get there:).

This also takes at least twice as long as it used to. I have to conjure up the WAHS cheerleader in me, remembering my old coach telling me to keep my eyes big and paste a cheesy smile on my face that was simultaneously bobbing up and down. In fact, I read in “What to Expect Your First Year” that this exact facial combo is a true motivational tool for the baby eater. Amazingly, it has worked. She’s much more prone to eat when I assume this alter ego.

At any rate, I think she believes the point of the new food is really for her to chew on the rubbery spoon. That seems to be the highlight at this point along with mowing down on her bib (both pictured).

Altogether, this is an exciting little phase in life. It’s so amazing to watch a little human learn about something so basic as food. Vic and I keep telling her, as if she understands, that this nasty porridge is just the tip of the iceberg that will eventually lead to the glories of pizza, ice cream and cheeseburgers. Yummm…

As far as the stink… I’ll leave that to your imagination. Until you, reader, are also inducted into the mom alumni chapter.