Weeks 9-10: no more reflexes

Our little man is noticeably becoming a little baby rather than a newborn.  One telltale sign is that Oscar has seemingly grown out of all his newborn reflexes. The rooting reflex is almost gone; no longer can you tickle his cheek to check if he is hungry, now the sign for "give me a boob" is a rapid left-right turning of the head which makes me think of Stevie Wonder. Also sadly missing is the Moro or "startle reflex". I miss that one a lot, it was super cute when a slamming door or a banging pan in the kitchen would cause him to throw his hands and arms out wide, as if he were saying "boo!" to scare someone. Now these sudden noises cause Oscar to either open his eyes wide and look in that direction, or to simply not care. Bye bye to the simple reptilian brain reflexes. One good thing about losing these reflexes is that he's getting more control over his arms. Swaddling is becoming less and less of a requirement as Oscar is less likely to accidentally hit himself in the face - that really pisses him off.

The replacement for all these newborn reflexes are the beginnings of actual interactions with his world.  For a couple weeks now, Oscar has shown increasing interest in the play gym where toys dangle above his head.  It started with staring at the toys, but quickly progressed to being surprised and pleased when his auto-flinging arms would run into a toy - holy shit, I just affected change on my universe! Now Oscar can consciously and purposefully bat at the toys. He even has conversations with them, and is interested in the different rattle noises and textures on the toys.  Oscar is starting to open his fists to actually feel and touch the toys, so it's probably not long before purposeful grasping starts too.  Accidental grasping has been going on for some time now, as I can attest to - I have to keep my hair pulled up whenever I hold Oscar because otherwise he ends up with fistfuls of my hair and I need help to untangle the little bug.

And the smiles, oh dear the smiles, they just melt your heart.  Oscar starting smiling a few weeks ago, but we weren't sure if the smiles were genuine or just learning to use facial muscles... until Jessica visited.  All her cutie baby voices and animated smiles got Oscar responding with real, super genuine smiles.  Jason and I were a little jealous, but I learned from the expert and started with my own extra animated smiles and super lovey-dovey mom voice and, lo and behold, little O smiles at me all the time now. I love the morning smiles - Oscar wakes up by fussing and throwing his arms around while his eyes are still closed, but if you pick him up or rub his chest, the eyes open, the fussing ebbs, and all of the sudden Oscar notices you're there and gives you a "good morning" smile. Best start to the day ever!

Tummy time is still kinda a shit show.  Oscar will lay on his stomach for a few seconds to a minute or two, but invariably melts down crying. Luckily, he must be moving his head around enough because Oscar possesses a perfectly round head, no flat spots from lying on his back all the time (by the way, it's interesting how obsessed people are with head shape, I get comments almost everyday about the perfect shape of Oscar's head). And he has a pretty strong neck too, O can occasionally hold up his head while sitting upright. I'm super excited for him to master this skill, because then he'll be able to ride along in a whole new variety of baby carriers and look around as we show him the world. Super exploring time is right around the corner.

Oscar also started daycare aka school right around October 18, as soon as the government shutdown ended and the daycare center at my work reopened. The government shutdown inadvertently gave me an extra 2 weeks of "maternity leave" with Oscar at home, which was both good and bad. Anyway, Oscar was a natural at school - once he discovered they play gym, he was happy as a clam. His teachers are amazing, loving people, and Oscar can't get enough of the other babies. He's the youngest in the classroom, so watching the other babies (who are up to 4 months older than him) and what they can do is a serious motivator.

Oscar also continues to spend entirely too much time at bars with us.  Here he is helping his dad celebrate another bike accident - Jason wrecked while doing a wheelie and sprained his wrist pretty badly. So, off to the bar to drown his sorrows.