"Cool new toy, Mom. But seriously, what's it for?"

I started with a sippy and a goal, and ended up with a very wet but happy baby, who has yet to taste water. Actually, I held it up, and tipped it back so he'd taste some, but clearly the prize wasn't worth the effort - most got dumped over the edge of his pillow. The rest wound up on him. At least he figured out how to get the water out - it just didn't occur to him that it belonged in his mouth. I guess this is why the nurse said to start the sippy at six months - it takes them a while just to figure it out.

We went to the Parentlink meeting yesterday after all. It was pretty good. This one was all about play, and we watched a relatively useless video that covered skills that John has already blown past. However, the nurse told me what games and toys we should be looking to get John. She said a box that he can put things in and take things out of is lots of fun now that he can sit with his hands free. Giving him things to drop from his high chair is good too, because he's just figuring out the concept of space. She went around the room, and asked what everyone's baby could do during tummy-time. I said that John likes to swim, which made everyone laugh. But, that's exactly what it looks like. He waves his arms and legs around frantically, trying to move, but obviously not getting anywhere. Either that, or he rises up on his hands.

She said next, he'll draw his legs under him, rise up on all fours and start to rock back and forth. Not five minutes after she said it, one of the other moms said "look what he's doing!" John had gotten himself up on all fours, and was rocking back and forth!!! It was a first!! But then he didn't know what to do - he just kept rocking and rocking, while a room full of women waved bright shiny objects in front of him, cheering him to take a step forward. It was all a little too much for him, so he started to cry instead. But wow - it was pretty momentous! The nurse said that the rocking will continue for a while, until one of his legs moves in the process. Then, he'll figure out that if he keeps moving his legs, he'll be able to move. She said it's not a question of strength for him, because he's very strong - it's just a matter of piecing it all together. So exciting! I guess we had better start babyproofing.

This group is much more relaxed than the Baby rhyme time program. There, I had the keener mom right beside me, and she was giving her eight-month-old - the one who's already taken swimming lessons - a play-by-play description of me taking John's snowsuit off. It was cute at first, but got a little irritating after the first couple of snaps. She was also very envious of John's teeth, and I heard her tell her baby as she was getting up to go that he's going to have to get a couple of his own before the next class.

In this class, John was the oldest by about a month, so I got asked a lot of questions by the other moms. It was pretty fun. It brought back a lot of memories, seeing those teeny little babies. John's favourite was little Grace, who was 9 weeks old. He stared at her and laughed for a good chunk of the meeting. We put them face-to-face at the end, and they were both all smiles. It was cute. He's gotten himself the reputation as the class flirt, and had the whole room howling several times.

The nurse started a chart for John, to track his growth. He was 19 pounds, 11 ounces, but he was wearing denim overalls, a shirt and diaper, as well as socks and his Robeez, so he had a lot of extra weight on him. (We'll know his real weight on Monday, when we go to see the Doc.) She commented that he has a lot of personality, and a very expressive face. Nurses are trained to spot depression in moms by watching the baby - depressed moms can pretend to be happy, but they often produce babies with very little facial expression, apparently - definitely not a concern with John!

I'm really glad I went, and I can tell John is having a blast seeing all these other people and their babies, so we're definitely going to keep going. Next week, a guest speaker is coming to teach baby first aid and CPR, which will be useful. I'm so scared that John is going to choke on his food, because I don't know what to do if he does; I'm definitely going to ask about that.

Anyway, I had better go. It's Christmas Eve here, so I have to get ready for John's first Christmas!!! I'm so excited! I'll post lots of photos!