[2] All smiles
Starting with the caveat that this is based on limited experience (just like the health claims from L'Oreal's surveys of 74 women, 86% of which said their products are the best thing since sliced bread), I have to say that I have never known a baby smile so much as the wee fella does.
He does get abandoned from time to time, during all waking hours only. We're not that bad at being parents if social services are watching. When he is abandoned he's usually very happy left to his own devices. But see when you return, it's big smiles all round. Not that he's complained about being left while you sort out the carnage also known as his big brother, he's just happy to see you again. Maybe it's the new face he sees, it's been that long since he saw it it's like meeting us for the first time again.
It is great, though, having some glimpse back to a time when the big fella used to be as happy to see us. We have learnt from some mistakes though, well one in particular. We didn't cheer and whoop when he (#2) managed to pull his musical bee on his bouncy chair (this made the big fella cry with fear - the whooping from his parents, not the bee). I think that was a turning point for the first born, so we're treading carefully with the second. If the wee one turns out OK we'll blame the fright of the musical bee on the outcome of all future misdemeanours of the big one. Any excuse.
So yes, at the moment the little one is all smiles, pretty much all the time. But, there is a fear this is not going to last. He's just started chewing multiple fingers at once, and drooling a bit. The nightmare that is teething is starting to cross our minds. Oh well, we can look forward to toothy smiles as we say goodbye to the gummies.
