Three 1st you won't find in a baby book

They weren't hallmark moments, but they were significant milestones nonetheless. The first was brutal, the second entertaining and the third alarming...


More firsts by Ivan Baggett.

First Blood

It was a bad hour. Ivan had been calmly sitting near a doorway when suddenly he crashed forward, effectively cutting his upper gum and slightly bleeding his nose. Of course I had a hard time finding the cut, with all the screaming and him pushing my hands away as I tried to explore the inside of his bleeding, hurting mouth. Once I diagnosed that no serious damage had taken place, I soothed him and gave him food. That always works! Then about 30 minutes later, he did it again! I'm not sure if his head felt a little heavier that day or what, but he was definitely top heavy. At least no blood was drawn this time. I soothed him once again and diverted his attention with a toy. We were contentedly playing with his new baby sized soccer ball. I was throwing it up in the air and catching it, then bringing it up to his face and he'd laugh hilariously. That's when I accidentally missed the ball and it ricocheted off my hand and smacked Ivan right in the face. Oh, boy, did he scream that time! I quickly picked him up and told him I was sorry and we went in another room for a change of scenery. I declared that Ivan's face was off limits to any other obstructions for the rest of the day. I soothed him and we did something safe and calm... read books.

First Conversation

Ivan has decided he is more of a summer guy, but the weather has gotten cool. Thus the ongoing war of clothes. We put him in socks, pants and long sleeve shirts. He pulls them off. Well, at least the socks so far. He hasn't figured out how to remove the rest, so he just pulls on them and screams. He was doing this last week, so I calmly told him that he had to leave his clothes on since it was cool out. To my surprise he responded! "ummmahwannauwun", he said (or something like that). So I told him that I knew he didn't like clothes, but we all wear them. He answered me again! This give and take went on for several minutes. His voice slightly whinny and protesting and mine firmly explaining. After a while, he seemed to accept the fact and moved on to other adventures. Maybe this boy is understanding more than we think!

First Fridge Raid

Hot off the press! This afternoon a 12 month old made his own lunch. I was getting supper ready and while the fridge was open, Ivan started checking out its contents. He selected a plum and bit into it. He was quite pleased with his find and decided he should eat it then and there. I grabbed it from him momentarily to wash it off then gave it back to him. I had my back turned to him as I worked at the stove and when I turned around, I saw that he had what remained of the plum in his mouth. I realized that we hadn't seen a pit yet, so I pulled the plum from his mouth. It was pitless! I did that mother's-finger-sweep-through-infant's-mouth maneuver and found an unswallowed pit (just in time, I might add). I gave him back the half a plum, which he totaled off in less than a minute. Ivan also knows where the cereals are (his favorite snack). He can pull the boxes from the cupboard, open them and help himself, not to mention help his canine snack buddy who is quite delighted that the little guy is so resourceful, since she can only bark or sit pleadingly at her bowl, which is not usually very effective.