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<\/a>Hunter-Gatherer uses all his clues to determine whether it is safe to go home.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Baby Codes<\/h2>\n
Each day my wife and I pass information back and forth about naps, meals, and poops. It might seem to an outsider like a never-ending stream of trivia but knowing is actually important when you are on the inside of the parenting relationship with a partner.<\/p>\n
Non Trivial Trivia 1: \u00a0Naps<\/h4>\n
When were the naps, how many naps, \u00a0and how long were they? \u00a0This sounds really boring, but nothing could be further from the truth. \u00a0Imagine Navy SEALS being dropped into enemy territory. \u00a0They have a vested interest in whether the landing zone is quiet or erupting in wild gun battles.<\/p>\n
On a good day the boys will pull 2-3 naps. \u00a0A good nap could be an hour and perhaps even two hours. \u00a0On the other hand, a nap could be as short as 15-20 minutes followed by an encounter with a wailing angry boy. \u00a0There is no guarantee that all the naps won’t be 15 minute cat naps with the guy in question getting more and more grumpy as the day wears on. \u00a0Paying attention to the nap schedule tells a careful man whether he’s walking into happy Hobbiton or Mordor and Mount Doom. \u00a0It will also tell you whether you wife has managed to get any extra sleep during the day or whether she has been harried and screamed at all day.<\/p>\n
Coming home on time, taking the boys, and letting mom sleep on a bad nap day is how we show machismo in our house. \u00a0What could be more macho than feeding babies, changing diapers, reading a bed time story, and singing them a bed time song? \u00a0The classic male fantasy portrayed in film has a guy risking his life to save his family, but in reality most dads live for and with their family. \u00a0Seriously, a guy that can handle twins for an extended period of time can beat his chest, tear up the jungle, and puff out his chest. \u00a0He’s gone from omega chimp to alpha silverback. \u00a0Twin Dads, be proud of those white hairs because it is all silverback, baby!<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Silverback Dad says, "Please fall asleep already."<\/p><\/div>
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Non Trivial Trivia 2: Poop<\/span><\/p>\n Who is pooping? \u00a0How much are they pooping? \u00a0What is the poop like? \u00a0This sounds gross and to an outsider who hasn’t got kids, it is a common joke leveled at parents of infants. \u00a0Here is the deal. \u00a0Dry poop hurts the baby and irritates his butt. \u00a0Constipated babies struggle and strain to relieve the pressure in their stomachs. \u00a0That little kid’s face can turn beet red so fast you’re jumping out of your chair to check and make certain he is okay. \u00a0As it turns out, he is trying to poop and having a rough time. \u00a0Knowing if the poop is dry means that you are armed with information that you can use to relieve the kid’s pain. \u00a0Add some haffle-juice (1-part water, 1-part apple juice) and then some prunes at the next meal, and you are in good shape.<\/p>\n Likewise, if you haven’t had a good poop in awhile, you need to be ready for the big danger poop<\/strong><\/span> that could be lurking and ready to spring forth at any moment. \u00a0If your guy is due for a poo<\/em><\/strong> and you get the poop face, you should move quickly or you could be headed for total containment breach. \u00a0If you don’t pay attention to the baby’s poop, you could end up covered in it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You must avoid the Poo-Pocalypse<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n Know their poop or wear their poop. \u00a0The choice is yours.<\/p>\n Non Trivial Trivia 3: Food and Teeth<\/span><\/p>\n What have the guys eaten recently, and how are their teeth? \u00a0Some of this should be obvious considering the poop discussion above. \u00a0When you are feeding a little one solid food, areas that are teething hurt, but the kid may not be able to tell you about it. \u00a0If you can avoid those spots, you are saving your kid some pain. \u00a0If your kid suddenly goes nuclear on you while eating, it is a good bet that you have found a tender spot that could be pushing teeth through the gum. \u00a0Once the meltdown has started, your best bet is a dramatic and sudden distraction. \u00a0I bang the highchair tray or remove it completely, lift the kid in the air, or clap my hands.<\/p>\n In normal playzone activity our guys tumble all over the place. A bit of vigorous rubbing helps one of the guys get past a bump or tumble, but you are not going to be able to rub a hurting gum. \u00a0Baby tylenol or a cold teether are pretty good though. \u00a0Teething can also lead you into a rough and unhappy napping schedule. \u00a0Once the sleeping schedule goes down in flames, it is all hands on deck.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ouchie!<\/p><\/div> Alex Climbing<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Alex is all about physical power and balance. \u00a0He has a lot of strength in his legs, and he can stand without help for 15-20 seconds at a shot. \u00a0He is beginning to babble and sing, but he is not creating any words I can recognize yet. \u00a0Alex is also pushing the boundaries of what is possible on a regular basis. \u00a0He seeks opportunities to push\u00a0himself\u00a0further by climbing to a standing position and then using a hand to steady himself without grabbing. \u00a0Then he may let go to try balancing without help. \u00a0This has lead to some spectacular wipe outs but he is ready to persist and keep trying.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dom practices fine motor control<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Dom is all about interaction and fine motor control. \u00a0When both boys were served trays of diced bananas, Dom managed to eat 7 pieces of banana in the time it took Alex to eat 1. \u00a0He was focused, coordinated, and methodical about identifying what he wanted and bringing it to his mouth. \u00a0He brings that same focus to his play as he tends to sit and study objects. \u00a0He doesn’t stand well yet, but that’s because he would rather try walking. \u00a0He is also very social. \u00a0He has started creating words like “Mmmmm” (Mom or food), “Mama” , “Ah-yaaah” (Alex), and “Hhhiiiiiiiii” (Hi, hello, I’m excited to see you!).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Learning and Achieving Together<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n What is most interesting is that the boys are developing abstraction. \u00a0 Each boy has developed object permanence<\/a> which means that you can show them an object and then hide it and they will know it is hidden. \u00a0They are also developing object context<\/a> which means that they know some objects have different roles:<\/p>\n One distressing and amusing aspect of this is that it’s fairly common for one boy to treat the other boy as a\u00a0Climber<\/strong> object. \u00a0The added benefit is that when you grab hold of the other kid to balance yourself, he has got this very convenient hair you can grip to help you keep your balance. \u00a0If you just happen to tumble over and you pull his hair, well… that’s his problem. \u00a0(Mom and Dad’s hair is pretty much the same deal, and Mom gets off lucky because she doesn’t have hair on her legs and arms for ready grabbing.)<\/p>\n They are finding a basic understanding of new tools as a result. \u00a0When they see a bowl of baby food and a spoon, they know to open their mouths to make the baby-bird face. \u00a0If you hand them the spoon, they pop it into their mouths to chew on it. \u00a0Show them a bottle, and you will get a hoot-fest that will rival any zoo’s chimp house. \u00a0Hand them the bottle, and they can do a modest job of getting at the fluid even if they still do a better job with a bit of help.<\/p>\n I’m watching for signs of systemic thinking, but we are not quite there yet. \u00a0They are happily taking things apart, but they largely create chaos in their wake. \u00a0When they begin to create order (building, organizing, matching) it will be a clue that they have crossed another mental threshold. \u00a0At that point, they will be building relationships between objects based on context with an understanding of patterns.<\/p>\n What does all that add up to? \u00a0It shows an ever expanding series of horizons in their development. \u00a0They\u00a0continuously\u00a0seek that which is beyond them trying to expand their boundaries of control and ability through exploration and experimentation. \u00a0As a species, this continual desire to expand our knowledge and explore the unknown is integrated into our core selves. \u00a0It is the engine which drives human development on a personal and a global scale. \u00a0Just watching them develop you can draw a straight line from the earth to the moon landing. \u00a0It seems odd to draw the parallel, but our desire to explore the universe comes from the same root as my boyos standing tip-toe to peek over the playzone wall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\n <\/p>\nWhere are we now?<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Alex<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Dom<\/h4>\n
Together<\/h4>\n
When we first erected the play zone and laid down the floor mats the boys were largely trapped in place because they were not coordinated enough to travel. \u00a0There was rolling and tumbling around, but it was not directed or focused movement. \u00a0Both boys are crawling now and testing the bounds of their prison. \u00a0They pull up to stand on any object nearby, and they are most likely to identify where mom is and then stand at that edge of the play area and pine for her. \u00a0(“MMMmmmmm!! \u00a0MMMMmmmm!!”) \u00a0Keep in mind that the guys have gone from largely\u00a0immobile, to randomly mobile, to directed mobility within the space of a few weeks.<\/span><\/h4>\n
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