Back in bidness
OK, so when I wrote that I would be updating the blog "soon," I really meant "in about a month." Funny how that works.
The past couple of months have been intensely busy around these parts, including three mini-vacations. I took five weeks of parental leave during that stretch, and it's interesting to see the changes in the kids over the period.
Owen is finally — finally — showing signs that this baby sister of his isn't such a bad idea after all. His attitude toward Abby, stretching back to birth, can be broken into the following stages:
Stage 1: Jealousy This was a brief stage, characterized by Owen annoyed whenever Sue touched Abby. Which was often, obviously. Owen expressed his annoyance by meowing. Meowing angrily. Cauterwaling, maybe?
Stage 2: Tolerance Owen soon came to accept that Sue (and to a lesser extent, I) had to care for Abby. He dealt with it. But he still had absolutely no interest in touching her. Stage 2 could also be named Ambivalence.
Stage 3: Vague Interest A couple of months ago, Owen began making minor efforts to acknowledge the baby. He might give her a toy, or meow at her if she cried.
Stage 4: Mild Interactivity These days, the boy makes the odd attempt to converse with Abby. We've heard him try to console her when she's upset. He gets genuinely worried if we are packing the car and have not yet put Abby in her car seat, as though there's a good chance we will forget her. He tries to rock her when she's in her wee swing (actually, it's more of a violent push than a "rock," but still..)
So there you go. Owen still refuses to hug or kiss Abby, and he declines all attempts to photograph the pair of them together, but then again he tries to avoid photographs of any sort. Possibly it's a religious thing.
The past couple of months have been intensely busy around these parts, including three mini-vacations. I took five weeks of parental leave during that stretch, and it's interesting to see the changes in the kids over the period.
Owen is finally — finally — showing signs that this baby sister of his isn't such a bad idea after all. His attitude toward Abby, stretching back to birth, can be broken into the following stages:
Stage 1: Jealousy This was a brief stage, characterized by Owen annoyed whenever Sue touched Abby. Which was often, obviously. Owen expressed his annoyance by meowing. Meowing angrily. Cauterwaling, maybe?
Stage 2: Tolerance Owen soon came to accept that Sue (and to a lesser extent, I) had to care for Abby. He dealt with it. But he still had absolutely no interest in touching her. Stage 2 could also be named Ambivalence.
Stage 3: Vague Interest A couple of months ago, Owen began making minor efforts to acknowledge the baby. He might give her a toy, or meow at her if she cried.
Stage 4: Mild Interactivity These days, the boy makes the odd attempt to converse with Abby. We've heard him try to console her when she's upset. He gets genuinely worried if we are packing the car and have not yet put Abby in her car seat, as though there's a good chance we will forget her. He tries to rock her when she's in her wee swing (actually, it's more of a violent push than a "rock," but still..)
So there you go. Owen still refuses to hug or kiss Abby, and he declines all attempts to photograph the pair of them together, but then again he tries to avoid photographs of any sort. Possibly it's a religious thing.
posted by Scott at 12:06 PM
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