bath time

Why is it that they say baths calm people, especially babies, down? They have the opposite effect on baby Doodle. Almost every night we eat dinner together the Mr. Doodlebug brings BD upstairs for a bath. I do the dishes and clean the kitchen. Then I join the boys upstairs for our nightly routine. When Mr. D takes baby Doodle out of the tub he wraps him in a towel and brings him into our room to get lotioned up and diapered.

It is after he is rubbed down with calming lotion that he starts acting like a wild man -- baby Doodle that is, not Mr. D. He turns over, crawls around, stands up and then throws his body down onto the soft mattress. Last night, for the first time, he stood up without pulling himself up using a prop. He squatted on the bed and lifted his body to the standing position by the pure power of his legs. It was great. Then he stood there for a few seconds not holding onto anything. Then launched his body forward landing on the bed face down. Then he laughed and giggled and did it again.

Baby Doodle's excitement and energy is infectious. Mr. Doodlebug and I are laughing and tickling baby Doodle exacerbating his hyper mood. Finally, I put a stop to the fun and we go downstairs to read some books, drink some whole milk, and brush BD's teeth before putting him to bed.

That reminds me of another thing I wanted to write about. Is it possible that BD has learned how to prolong wakefulness? After we've read about six books and I say, "okay, it's time to brush your teeth" baby Doodle reaches for another book and holds it out to me. I usually say, "okay, one more book then we're going to brush your teeth." I, or Mr. D, read the book then one of us carries him off to the bathroom while he whines and tries to reach for another book to distract me from my mission of getting him to bed so I can eat my dessert already! I can't believe he's already this manipulative.