Between Children and Old Folks

My son made it quite…

((As I begin to type this my son topples head first onto the floor, slamming his head hard enough that the sound resonates through the entire house. His father and I got there before he even let out a tiny cry, and then he plays it up when he notices we’re worried. You can tell they’re growing up when they begin to get manipulation. We’ve got ourselves a big boy! A big boy with a huge red spot on his head. Yowch.

Back to our program already in progress…))

clear that he much preferred adults over babies this weekend. On Saturday, we had our usual hours long conversation about politics and fiat currency with Eric’s friend. That evening, however, we had a dinner and get together at the Children’s Museum with other kids from the TEDDY study.

“What the hell is a 7 6.75 month old going to do at the Children’s Museum?” you ask. “You just went for the free food, didn’t you?” you accuse.

Jerk. While the free food was intriguing, I was hoping we might be able to socialize Ben a little. Maybe with some babies his own age or a bit older. Getting him into interacting with someone other than his parents and other aged individuals, I thought, might be a good thing. Now don’t you feel bad?

Immediately after signing in we beeline for the food line. (Come on! It was Olive Garden!) In front of us was a very uptight and pissy mother, an obviously nice but nervous father, and an adorable, pissed off baby girl probably about 10 months old. The mom is grumbling something at the dad, the dad is trying desperately to point out fun things for his daughter to look at and the daughter? She’s SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. Not crying. She’s doing the, “YOU PEOPLE ARE PISSING ME OFF!” sort of scream. Ben cranes his neck to look around me and her daddy so he can give her one of my favorite looks. The “what-the-heck-is-your-issue” look. This is the look he proceeded to give every child thoughout the entire museum.

I suppose I’m not surprised. My mom’s always said that, as a baby, I would look at my peers as if they were aliens. Not just aliens, but stupid aliens. Eric’s said that, when he was a child, he always thought other kids were idiots. We seem to have another anti-social child on our hands.

He did, however, enjoy the time he spent with just us; rocking on the lily pad, playing with the gear wall, playing with the giant legos, sliding on the slide. No so much sliding on the slide. He cried. No matter how slow you went or how tightly you held, he cried. I was scared of the slide, too, when I was little. Who says nuerosis aren’t genetic?

Sunday we had our weekly family visit with my grandparents and then, dinner with my parents. He cooed, he talked, he had a great time interacting with all the old folks. The only time anyone would get one of “those” looks was when they baby talked to him or tried to get him to play with anything other than a remote control. God forbid you should hand him a toy!

I have a feeling my son’s going to be a lot like me as a kid. I have a feeling he’ll be a bit of a loner with a great mind and a little disgust for the “vroom-vroom” of the kids around him. I just hope it won’t keep him from having friends. I mean, he’s already got a mama with piercings and tattoos (which is enough to keep most moms away), but if he keeps looking at kids like he does now, I’m going to end up being his date to the prom. Oh my, the therapy bills…

Filed under 7 Month, TEDDY, family |