Kitten babies

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It just so happened that I hung out with two babies this weekend who were both 2 months of age--Stella on Friday and Carson on Saturday. Before this, I didn't realize that babies at this age don't see very well--they're like newborn kittens or puppies who have a vague notion of what's around them. Aside from the general baby stuff, here's what else they can do at this age: smile, frown, wiggle, make "huh-huh" noises, and look at you intently with their scary little blind eyes. That's it (*oh, except babies at this age have a serious problem with static electricity and their wisps of hair, but that's not like something they do). You can set them in the center of the bed without worry because guess what: they can't move. They can't roll over, they can't lift their heavy heads, they can't shimmy along the quilt and plop off the end of the bed. They can look up at the ceiling with their heads turned to the side until you wonder what it is they're staring at and realize it's probably nothing. By two months, even kittens are smarter than babies of the same age.

Carson arrived with the rest of Shawn's family on Saturday. They set off to look at the house, leaving me with THE BABY who was supposed to go down for a nap. Of course, ten minutes after they left, the wind forced the bathroom door to slam shut and the noise startled said baby, waking him up and causing him to wiggle his fists and feet and make distressed coos. I picked him up and held him and that made him quiet, but when I tried to put him down on the bed, he fussed again. I hoisted him up on my shoulder again. He started to give me a hickey by sucking on my neck. I took him into the living room and set him in his rocking car seat. Inexplicably, I started talking to him in baby talk--the higher pitched gobbledy-gook sounds you make like some kind of cave person--and he responding by smiling, flashing his dimple, and opening and closing his mouth ina pleased way. I figured out that if I turned the seat towards me and kept rocking it with one hand, he would stay quiet and I could continue to play Sims (thank GOD!).

Who looks more aware and alert? Kitten or baby?


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