Turning on the lights

by Linda Lee (Subscribe to Linda Lee's posts) Apr 8th 2008 1:38PM

All of a sudden, at 9 weeks old Dylan has discovered his hands. I keep catching him peering intently at his slowly moving fingers, his brow furrowed, the teeny tiny thought balloon above his head clearly reading, "Whoah."

(If it were Halloween, I'd slap a dreadlocked wig on him and tell everyone he was dressed as Burnout Baby. Then I'd teach him to do that "you're running through the forest" thing people used to do to their stoned friends.)

It's really something to see a baby starting to get more and more aware of their surroundings. It's a bit like seeing a house turning its lights on, one after another. First they know your face, then they figure out their own bodies, and soon enough they're doing that Godzilla-stagger around in the house in search of exposed electrical outlets to gnaw.

Do you remember when your baby started tripping out over their hands or feet? Did it make you laugh on a daily basis, too?

Comments (9)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

amber 4-08-2008 @ 2:46PM

I love it when they find their feet and not confident whether they are attached or not, or food or not, put them in their mouth! I guess toes could look like nipples if you had
foggy, new baby vision!

ALSO, I'm not familiar with the running through the forest bit. Fill me in, it sounds hysterical!

claire 4-08-2008 @ 3:25PM

Like many first time mothers (I assume), I read my baby book's baby development time-line like a freak when my son was born. So, when around whatever-week-it-was-"supposed"-to-be that he should have discovered his hands, imagine my horror when he still hadn't figured out they were actually attached to his body.
I remember very clearly when my son discovered his fingers because before that, he ignored them completely. Even though on all his ultrasounds, his fingers were shoved down his throat, from birth until around 8 or 9 weeks old, he didn't so much as touch his lips with them. Then, one day, magically, he was waving his hand in front of his face like he could see tracers (just like a little stoner) and then proceeded to shove his entire fist in his mouth. Now I'm lucky if I can get his hand out of his mouth to feed him.

Allstarme79 4-08-2008 @ 3:36PM

As soon as Elliot found his hands, he tried his hardest to get them in his mouth, in their entirety. This cracked me up. When he found his feet, however, I was constantly annoyed by them going to his mouth when they were socked. Also, he pulled off said socks multiple times a day. Now he goes barefoot, much to the chagrin of most people who gasp at my obvious neglect. By the way, it's 85 degrees here.

biscuit 4-08-2008 @ 3:55PM

As a former pot-headish high schooler, I know all about the running through the forest thing. I guess you do too, huh? ;p

*wildly chops hands parallel to the sides of your face*

What my 9 week old does that makes me roll is she grins when I pull my boob out to feed her. Piglet.

isisaquaria 4-08-2008 @ 4:14PM

It is cool-she has, he hasn't--but put them together and he tries to eat her fist.

Michelle 4-08-2008 @ 5:36PM

I find that this second time around just about everything my baby does makes me laugh. This is an awesome change from the incessant WORRY that permeated the first months of my three-year-old's life.

Devin doesn't spend so much time looking at his hands because he's always got them crammed in his mouth. In fact, the soundtrack to this comment is "slurp slurp slurp slurp".

Angel 4-09-2008 @ 8:49PM

yes, when my now 12 month old found his hands awhile back, he promptly put them in his mouth but that didn't last long. he then put everything else in his mouth, and still does. he is full fledged godzilla walking too, and he loves to chase us around the house like a little Frankenstein. this is my third and last boy, I am going to miss these stages. but not enough to have another one!

pam 4-09-2008 @ 4:19PM

dang, my boys are 18 weeks old (11 weeks adjusted) and they still dont' realize that their hands are attached to their bodies. they still get scared by them (they're not so bright, my boys) but they have started stuffing them into their mouths. i think it's just random, though.

queentree 4-10-2008 @ 4:23PM

The toe discovery is interesting. My son would pull his socks off and suck on his toes. It was slightly disturbing to see and hear the sucking coming from the back seat of the car while driving. My husband said my son's feet smelled like salad dressing......they did!!

How To Submit Photos:
If you'd like your children (any age will do!) featured on ParentDish, upload photos into the ParentDish Flickr Pool. Be sure to read our main Flickr page for more information.