Thank You, Dr. Harvey Karp.

To say, "oh, he's growing so fast", would be falling prey to an age old cliché--but can I be at fault if it IS really true? Noah Finn is growing like a weed, physically and developmentally. Here's a laundry list of recent developments for YOU, Grandmas and Great Grandmas, since I know you feel like you're just missing it all:

At 5 Weeks:

• loves laying on our bed and ceiling fan gazing for as long as we'll let him
• smiles beautiful heart-wrenching gummy smiles at least several times an hour (even in his sleep) in response to mom and dad's nauseating baby speak
• goos and gaas at a rate that has convinced us he'll be calling up Tickle Me Elmo for a play date by sometime next week
• absolutely, positively relishes laying on his changing table--regardless of any fit that precedes a diaper changing, a good stint on the changing table solves it all
• holds up his head (but he's been doing this since week 1) with the confidence of an athletic ostrich
• adores bath time--even if unpreventable "unmentionables" often make it into the bathing tub
• makes incredible attempts at standing (even though I know this is too early and is not good for his leg development--but he does it on his own while we're holding him in our laps!)
  

Dr. Harvey Karp's "Five S's" warrants a mention here too. Mom first introduced us to the method and Jessica sealed the deal with her visit and offering of his book and tutorial DVD. The five S's, Swaddling, Shooshing, Swinging, Side lying and Sucking, has turned arduous hours of consoling a fussy "fourth trimester" baby into a cooing bundle of smiling bliss. Yes, we have fallen prey yet again, this time to gimmicky tricks for calming our fussy baby. But, hey, when you're operating on a torture victim at Guantánamo Bay's amount of nightly sleep, you'll likely try just about anything. THANK YOU, Dr. Harvey Karp!