Beauty Day with Baby J

Jdog and I spend every hour of every day and night together. In his spoiled six months of life he’s only had one babysitter—and even then I came home to feed him mid-date. You see, baby J isn’t a fan of the bottle. He doesn’t like binkies. He tried rice cereal two weeks ago and has had a bad case of the runs ever since (every single diaper change, no joke). No more solids for another month. He is already pretty picky eater, but who can blame him. He knows what he likes and mama’s milk does a baby body good.

Yesterday Jdog and I attempted an amazing fete: breast feeding beneath a hair salon cape, while under the color processing blow dryer. Taking your big baby to the beauty parlor isn’t exactly ideal. If they’re not sleeping—which Jdog wasn’t—it can be rather tricky and slightly embarrassing. But I had reached the seven month mark without a hair stylist touching my hair, so it was high time for a cut and color. I thought that if baby J slept through most of it, letting him bounce around on my lap wouldn’t be a big deal. But he had other plans in mind.

Two minutes into the appointment there was movement beneath the car seat cover and sure enough, baby J was awake. He sat content long enough for my sweet med school friend to finish foiling my hair (big props to her—I have a lot of hair). But, then his lack of a morning nap began to catch up with him. So, I fed him while my highlights processed beneath the dryer. He was still fussy. I laid him on my belly and played “superman” while she washed out my color. That still didn’t do the trick. Finally, I broke out the emergency bottle in my purse, hoping it would at least soothe his teething gums. But he crinkled his nose, flapped his arms, and furrowed his brow as if to say, “Really, Mom, really?” So, I left the salon with wet untrimmed hair and Jdog in tow, hoping that he would fall asleep with a few spins around the block. And, lucky me, it worked like a charm. I even made it back with enough time for my friend to trim up my frayed ends and blow it dry. When I arrived to pick up Atrain at preschool, I felt like a new woman.

The tides are changing for baby J. He isn’t just a little car-seat sleeper any more. As the husband can attest, he’s beginning to be a “rug rat:” while laying in his back he’ll arch and scoot himself backwards (the funniest sight) all the way up against a wall where he loves to scratches his little fingers to his heart’s content; he turns back and forth from belly to back to reach favorite objects—he is most fond of chewy puzzle pieces; and, he’s even beginning to do the “push up” stance while on his belly. What a tough little guy. As the husband watched via video chat last night, he wore a proud, longing smile. Jdog loved looking up at the screen as his dada cheered him on. He can’t wait to get to Texas and show the husband his new tricks. Four days until take off. I can’t wait either.