the giggler

Today is the day he giggled.

He’s smiled. He’s even laughed. A kind of inhale exhale 2-beat chortle. But giggling?

It happened this morning. On the changing table of course. I yelled for Scott. You have to hear this. Tickled the boy’s belly. There it was. And again. Like a water over pebbles in a brook. Burbling. Astonishingly beautiful.

Over the last three days, he’s developed this wonderful new habit. It’s called napping. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? I thought it was only a rumor. At the very least, something I’d need a book and perhaps a specialist to help make happen.

Not that he’s never taken a “nap” per-se. That would be cruel. I certainly try to help him nap frequently. We usually get a half an hour here, twenty minutes there…

On Thursday, the boy fell asleep at the start of yoga class, woke up at the end. 1.5 hours.

On Friday, at 9 a.m., after noticing several yawns on his part, I put him down in the bassinet and stroked his head — too tired myself to do the jiggle routine. He fell asleep and stayed that way till 10:30. That afternoon after lunch with a friend, he fell asleep in the bucket/stroller around 2, and stayed that way for another hour and a half as I walked him around town.

Today, he may have even made it to two hours, sleeping through an entire 4-year-old’s birthday party this morning, and then he napped again, in daddy’s arms, for at least an hour, around 5.

Could all this napping correlate with the new giggling? He certainly has been more calm and content more of the time lately. He’s also progressing in his batting and grabbing skills, and threatening to roll over. We watch, spellbound, rooting for him. His little body twists to one side, upper half but not lower, legs wiggle, feet push against the mat. Go, baby, go! Not yet, but soon.

Pretty soon, he’ll be crawling? All of the sudden, it feels like we’ve switched into high gear, he’s going to be changing so fast now.

He’s also more cuddly of late. Puts his arms around our necks when we pick him up, nestles into our shoulders.

I really like this baby. He laughs all day long. Flirts with us. Stares at things. It’s magical.