Our hyper-developing son has become a little harder to read as of late. Basically, he's no longer a simple creature of pooping, eating and sleeping, and that has been challenging. Diana in particular beats herself up over it, since she's with him more, including overnight feedings. I think it's natural to feel frustrated and inadequate when you can't figure out how to calm your own child, and it takes a great deal of will for me to not react to his cries emotionally. My rational self knows his cries aren't the result of discomfort or discontent, but rather the only way he knows how to indicate that he needs something.
But we get some goodness out of this as well. He's starting to develop personality, with smiles and interesting facial expressions, not to mention the baby kicking that is endlessly funny to watch. Tonight we saw the Snoqualmie babies, and it's fascinating to see the stages of development. Mason, at four months plus, is able to sit up and do stuff with his head and hands. Nina is 2 now, and her communication skills are amazing relative to a year ago. It's both exciting and scary to see that Simon isn't that far off from these stages.
I think the hardest thing about parenting at this stage, aside from the sleep issues, is the ability of us to learn. Advice from other people is hit or miss, since they have different kids. It's just hard to generalize, and there are things you just have to feel out for yourself. Fortunately, he's just so cute and cuddly, that it's not too hard to forget his more difficult moments when he's being cute.
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