four months!

some days its hard to imagine, let alone remember, that at this time one year ago i was crippled by morning sickness, that we didn’t yet know we were having twins! we were not having twins!, that gus wasn’t here.

but boy oh boy is he here now. “he looks fantastic!” the doctor glowed today, noting that the kid has gained more than two pounds in less than a month. he’s also grown more than an inch and a half and his head–thank the good lord above–has grown merely a centimeter. this puts g’s numbers even closer to the hwp stats parents like to see. (the particulars: 25th percentile for weight [up from the 10th! up from the 3rd!]; 50th percentile for length [up from the 25th!]; and 76th-ish percentile for head size [holding steady from the 75th].)

lest you think for one minute that our concerns about food are over, however, i bring you this: solids.

dr: how is his development?

me: um, well, you know, he’s only four months. so he’s not out running any races, y’know? 

dr: looks at me askance. (or askew. or akimbo. take your pick.)

me: okay, well, yeah, he’s really social. he won’t take his eyes off his big sister. or my dinner fork.

dr: you don’t say?

me: seriously. when i eat and he’s in my lap, he watches my fork from plate to mouth. 

dr: well then it’s probably time to start him in on solids.

me: WHAT? my BABY? on SOLIDS? why, he’s just a little guy. so tiny. he can’t even TALK yet! why would i want to start him on solids?

dr: um, well, because that’s what we do with kids. you know. we help them grow up.

me: harumph.

so it’s not exactly a medical concern (like the slow weight gain) or a dictum (like the injunction to supplement him NOW and OFTEN). it’s just what parents do. apparently. but my BAAAABEEEEEEE! he can’t be ready for solids! next thing you know he’ll be all, like, hey mom i’m stopping off on the way home from work to buy some beer, can i pick something up for you? and i’ll be like, oh, honey, remember when you were a teeny tiny little gu— and he’ll be all, fer crying out loud, woman, not again.

so next time i go to the grocery store (a trip i will now postpone as long as our pantry full of jam and pasta will allow) i will be purchasing rice cereal. and there goes my baby. all grown up. just like that.