Month 9

Faced with all his usual toys, Holden turned toward his faux rattle and rolled it and shook it for 2 days. Here’s how to make this awe-inspiring toy:

1. Wash and remove the label from a Gerber Prune Apple Juice container
2. Let dry (important or it all turns to mush and is fun for noone)
3. Insert about 6 Cheerios or Oatios
4. Leave for baby to discover

And that’s it… I’m not kidding that this thing holds his attention right now better than his wiz-bang “real” toys. He likes to shake it and also roll it around the carpet and the floor.

Save old sunglasses, cell phones, remotes and key chains that are no longer needed in a drawer.

As a good rainy day activity for baby: pull them out one at a time. As junior plays with one, you can usually sneak another back in the drawer for an endless supply.

Sometimes when I need to remove my cell phone from Julian’s little paws, a decoy cell phone is the way to avoid a mini-tantrum.

The uber-formal version of this is an organized childcare co-op, but I want to suggest the regular old swap variety.

Whitney watches Holden at her house one evening and then I watch Julian another evening. Just like that. And it’s free. And, crazy as it may sound, it can be super fun to watch someone else’s baby (unless they cry a lot, then it is pretty frustrating).

If you have a group of fairly responsible friends with similar aged babies and you want to try something a little more formalized, I can suggest Babysitter Exchange as a means to track requests and who’s done what for whom.

Another variation on the theme is to host a “kid party” with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers at your place for a Saturday night so their folks can go out for a real dates, and then get a date night in return. Read more details on the Adoptive Families website. The more the merrier… if you’re brave enough.

The time really does pass quickly when you get outnumbered so it’s anything but boring.

Now, go on a date already!