A little person

Some might argue that Cooper has been a little person for a long time, like since birth, or even before that. I know that I'm not supposed to say it as he is my kid and all, but really, to me he wasn't much of a little person until he was about six weeks old. Before that he was really just a newborn. As a newborn he didn't have a lot of amusement value or socializing abilities. Mostly he concerned himself with spastic movements, bodily functions, and extremely loud crying. Oh, and being loved unconditionally, of course.

Since about the six week mark, he's gotten far more "little person." Smiles, good steady eye contact, clearly showing that he recognizes us, being soothe-able the majority of the time... these are the marks of a reasonably human-type infant (in my book).

Now that he is three months old, I feel as though he's really blossomed into his personhood. He smiles, laughs, and giggles. He loves to be tickled, and clearly appreciates it when we make funny, unexpected sounds (by opening his eyes really wide and waving his arms excitedly). He talks to us in his soft, throaty baby voice, and makes cooing sounds when he wants our attention. He grins broadly at strangers who then almost always smile back, which makes him get excited and squirm in glee.

Cooper's coordination and movement skills are improving daily. He now bats at his toys on purpose and occasionally grabs onto things, which inevitably then leads to sticking them in his mouth. He can roll over both ways and has become a very opinionated side sleeper- I can gently roll him onto his back 5 times in one nap without dissuading him from rolling onto his side when I'm not looking. He skootches around on his back in the crib and has made it from one side to the other in his sleep. In fact, he does this so much that he's developed a bald spot on his head that was never there before. I'm pretty sure it is from the skootching about, or possibly his daily lengthy conversations with his mobile.

If I put him in a sitting position and coax him into holding onto my thumbs like the handlebars of a bicycle, he can stay sitting with just those fingers to help as he watches the world go by, sucks on his knuckles, and smiles at me. He's also gotten quite good at his "practice standing" and now can stand totally alone for a fraction of a second without any support, before he topples over into our hands. Of course he can't get into a standing position without us putting him there, but once there he can stay up for a pretty decent amount of time as long as we prevent him from toppling with gentle rib-cage support.

I can't believe that at three months our kid can do so many real baby things. It shocks me daily how fast he's changing- one day he can only stare at a toy, the next day he can grab it and stick it in his mouth.

The one thing he has yet to do, or want to do, is drink from a bottle. Sure, he's taken down 1/2 and ounce, and even almost 1 ounce a few times. But lately all we get is intense screaming fits... oh well. I guess I can applaud his dedication to the anti-bottle cause.

I read a few days ago that some babies can learn to drink from a sippy cup at only 5 months. We are SO THERE.