2003-08-20
Clay has started giving spontaneous kisses. He doesn't pucker, but he leans toward the recipient and says, "Mmmmmaaaah!" I feel as though he's finally starting to earn his keep.
As a baby he was okay--he was pretty cool for a baby, actually. But the stuff we're getting into now is so much better.
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People occasionally ask about our plans to have another kid. The usual response is that we have none. I think I could go either way. Or, let's say, I'm deeply ambivalent. B is unambivalent--he wants to quit while we're ahead, the way we both wish we had with our dogs. And frankly, after having convinced him to have one, I have no interest in convincing him to have another. Especially considering my own mixed feelings on the matter. So, unless B undergoes some dramatic change of heart, Clay will be our one and only.
And even if B did feel open to the idea of another, I might not want to. Everyone says two is more than twice as hard as one, and it's unlikely we'd get another kid as easy as Clay. And I'd want at least a three-year gap and he's only 20 months. And I'm already 40, and the incidence of both Down Syndrome and (shudder) twins increase with age. And, well, I'd probably go insane with even another easy baby.
That said, I enjoyed the whole pregnancy-labor experience and would like to go through it again. And it concerns me that Clay will have no siblings, especially since we live in the middle of nowhere and are such loners ourselves. But that's life.
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So I got this harness-leash operation to use on Clay while we're out. I've always thought that these made lots of sense--giving the kid autonomy while keeping him close. Clay craves freedom, far prefers walking to riding in a stroller, but won't hold my hand, so this is working very well so far. His eyes light up when I take the harness out. I had anticipated disapproving looks from people but they have not come. Or else I'm oblivious.
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