Things they don't tell you about co-sleeping, part two

When I was studying up on safe co-sleeping, I never saw anyone mention the necessity of body armor when you're co-sleeping with an older baby. BabyBeast being mobile also means that he tends to move around a lot in the bed. There have been a few nights the Husbeast and I have woken to find the BabyBeast's head buried into Husbeast's armpit and his toes digging into my hipbone. We've also woken to find ourselves pressed together like slices of bread while the baby stretches lengthwise across my half of the bed.

However, this newfound sleep-mobility does give camera-wielding MommaBeasts the opportunity to catch some truly hilarious 'naptime' images.


His feet are towards the head of the bed. We
tossed the blanket on him to keep him warm.

Fall days

The gorgeous, mild fall days are few and far between this year, but we've had a few. The BabyBeast is showing himself to be true to the bloodlines of his GrandpaBeast, who was an avid gardner and outdoorsman. If he can be outside, the BabyBeast prefers the open air, sunshine, and various plants and rocks to the regulated climate and baby-proofing of the indoors.



I've tried to regulate my normal germaphobe reactions to things, realizing that at this age, on an almost strict-breastmilk-only diet, he is fairly well protected from normal environmental things. I have clear memories of eating the dirt from under the swing sets at my daycare when I was five or six, and I survived (moreorless) intact. So when my seven-month-old son decides to put a leaf or twig into his mouth for a taste, I try to restrain myself for at least a few seconds before gently drawing it out of his mouth and distracting him with something else. It's not his fault that everything outside is just so... well, dirty!

Luckily, he often takes an interest in things too large to insert into his mouth, which gives me a chance to snap photos of him in all his Beastly Baby glory.



I'm a strong believer in the healing and calming effects of nature on the human psyche/spirit/soul, so I am happy to take the BabyBeast out into it as often as the weather permits. Not only does it give him new grounds to explore, but it also gives us both some sunshine and a much-needed dose of natural Vitamin D.

Besides, how often can a person get such epic shots as this when they're indoors?



Here's hoping your autumn weather is lovely, mild, and sunshiney and that you're getting your own dose of calm and natural Vitamin D today.

Mobility (hide the breakables!)

The BabyBeast, after about two months of trying, has finally mastered the art of crawling. This is a big step (er, crawl) in his development, and everyone in the Beastly household is very excited.

Currently it's more of a flop-crawl than a real crawl, but he's working hard at it every day and I don't anticipate having a SlugBeast for much longer.

The first Halloween

To me, it's wonderful to see how oblivious a baby can be to the events that we get so excited about. The BabyBeast is just shy of 7 months, and he doesn't seem even slightly interested in the trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell and seeking free sugarhighs. He'd much rather work on his standing-against-furniture.



While trick-or-treaters may not have interested him, the tiny pumpkin we gave him was definitely worth a second look.



I hope your Halloween/Samhain/All Hallow's Eve was as much fun as ours was here in the Beastly household. Perhaps next year we'll put him in silly clothes and take him out. For this year, an overabundance of orange is enough.