Mrs. MDAO most certainly does
not miss being pregnant, and is about as done with breastfeeding as one can be. She's a wonderful mother, but with three at once, just doesn't relate to that whole "feeling like a provident earth mother goddess" feeling that other women her age who've been pregnant talk about. She chalks a lot of this reported feeling up to the increased attention other people, including strangers, tend to shower upon the pregnant, and the subsequent ego boost. Being an introvert, she never craved such attention.
My three little ones are 11 months old today. The two girls each have two lower incisors, and they're eating solid food now. The prep and cleanup for this are such chores, compared to bottle feeding! My son is almost walking -- he's able to support himself by the fingertips of one hand on a piece of furniture, and use his other hand very dextrously to do whatever he wants.
All three of them are producing vocal utterances that sound more and more like words and sentences, and they mimic adult vocalizations with great joy. I sang "Little Bunny Foofoo" to my one daughter, and right after I'd point at her and say "I'm gonna turn YOU into a goon!" she'd look at me and say "Goooooon!!!"
We've babyproofed two large rooms of our house, and let them spread their toys out between them, so they've got plenty of room to play. They're big fans of toys with buttons that produce lights and sounds when you press them.
Unfortunately, they seem transfixed whenever a TV or computer screen is playing video. I think the video production industry must be hiring psychology majors and other human behavior experts, who know how to produce video that holds our attention at a primal level, in a way that few, if any, natural stimulus can compete with. It's kind of corollary to the ethical issues raised by MDMA -- if no natural happy experience can compete with that neurotransmitter rush, and one's first good roll is guaranteed to be the high point of a person's life, then is someone who values the little pleasures in life better off never taking it? I'm not implying there's one right answer to this, in the case of either media or drugs. I'm just saying it's an issue I've seen raised before, and one worth considering.
