Be In The Moment

I had quite a few of my guy friends tell me that they didn't really enjoy their children until they were a little older and could interact.  For me, this just simply is not the case, as Tag provides loads of enjoyment.  There's a few things I've noticed about Tag that stand out.  Since I really have no comparisons with other newborns I can only assume they are his unique talents and characteristics:

 1) He is quite alert when he's awake and seems to really enjoy being here.  When he looks right at me, we have a cool connection and I am dying to know what he's thinking. When others meet him they often comment about how alert he is, so I'm led to believe my observation is not biased.  Anyway, I like that about him.
2) When awake, Tag is really in the moment.  He doesn't allow things to distract him and he doesn't seem phased by his past or his future.  This inspires me to try harder to do the same.
3) He loves his Mother's breasts.  In this we are indeed father and son.  In Jo's blog post, she commented that all he seems to want to do is nurse.  DUH!
4) He smells delightful and my favorite time of day is when he sleeps on my chest with the top of his head just below my nose.  He nuzzles deeply into my chest and I swear our heartbeats start to beat in unison.  It makes me warm and I highly recommend this to all new parents and grandparents.
5) He is so tiny...making it a blast to hold him (and easy too!).  His cheeks, although small, are so soft and kissable.  Yeah, yeah, I know all parents probably say that about newborns, but it doesn't make it any less true.
6) When my sister was here, she commented how quiet he was.  I told her that I called it "chill" rather than quiet and she wholeheartedly agreed.  His chill attitude is immediately felt and admired.
7) He's gotten a 4.0 on all his tests thus far in his 4 weeks on earth.  CT Scan, MRI, two biopsies and a myriad of other tests.  We can only hope this trend will continue throughout his college years.
8) He's extremely handsome.  This can be directly attributed to his Mother.


I must admit when he and I first hung out and he cried for more than about 20 seconds, I kind of panicked and handed him to his veteran Mother. However, now that we know the "mass" is benign and not dangerous, I have figured out that his crying means one of the following things:
     a) He's hungry.  Since I don't have the food supply, I have had Joann pump an emergency supply into a few bottles so that whenever she is nowhere to be found, I can solve this one quickly.
     b) He has a messy diaper.  This is easily fixed.  Well, easy for now, since his diapers don't smell.
     c) He is working on creating a messy diaper.  This one has stumped me a few times.  He's crying and no food, or binky, or walking around, or changing positions help.  Then it happens.  Kaboom!  ...and the diaper is full.  All is well again in his life.  (as long as I directly proceed to "b")...
     d) He isn't comfortable.  A simple position change or the presentation of a binky solves this one.
     e) He's tired and about to fall asleep.  This one has also stumped me a few times.  He's crying and fidgety and then at the moment I'm about to panic, he's out like a light.  I've imitated this quick transition to Joann and it always garners a good laugh.

If all else fails, I hand him to Joann...