Grunter

Isn't it amazing that babies, even newborns - born with no experience of the world - already have their own set of likes and dislikes, preferences and opinions. Even though they are tiny and can't hold their head straight or walk or talk or do much, a baby is still its very own person!

With the second child, one has the luxury or the menace of comparison. As little Bobby boy grows we discover more and more of him, there are some things apparent right away. 

Little miss Haana could sleep inside a ringing alarm clock. Even though, like most kids, she did resist falling asleep. But once she was ready to sleep, not much could change her mind from it. This became apparent when she was 11 days old. We had taken her for her first visit to the temple. We happened to be there at the time of evening service: aarti. The bells were ringing, people were singing, music was playing, lights were on, there were several people around; all of that was going on. And this little baby decided its time to sleep, and nothing else really mattered, she slept righy through it all.

Little Bobby boy, though, is much different. He needs just the right environment for finally succumbing to sleep. Lights dimmed, blinds closed,  lullabies singing, the baby in a bouncer or arms swinging, blanket warm and cozy. And even then, Bobby boy would keep opening his eyes to see if he's missing out on anything. I've resorted to an old tactic I used with little miss Haana. I cover the naughty baby eyes with my hand. This is my way of manually closing the baby eyes, much like the dolls with eyelids that get stuck and need to be purposefully closed! Miss Haana used to fight it when I would put my hand over eyes, little Bobby boy seemingly accepts his fate but in fact tries to check if the hand is gone repeatedly by opening his eyes now and again. 

Little Bobby boy is also quite a noisy camper. He grunts and stretches, then grunts and turns. He grunts and closes his eyes, and grunts and cycles his feet. He's a grunter! This is actually not bad for the most part. Little miss Haana in comparison, was and is, a very quiet sleeper. In fact, when she was a baby, i used to go over and put my hand on her to make sure she's still breathing. No such testing is required for the boy. For sometime it appeared that perhaps little Bobby boy is uncomfortable. We didn't know how to make him more comfortable. I even recorded his grunting to check with his pediatrician. But with time we have concluded, Bobby boy is a grunter! And indeed the cutest grunter too!