備忘錄：一定要教安步的幾件事

只是可愛不行嗎？不行。

最近一直在想一定要教安步的幾件事，第一件事就是要教他做飯。雖然他的娘也不是什麼大廚或美食專家，但自從發現吃新鮮跟均衡的飲食會讓心情愉快，真的就比較勤勞的下廚。開始分辨不同的魚，不同部位的肉，不同種類的食用油，從一個食材開發自己能做的創意料理，雖然不煎不炸，但是口氣愉快。很期待可以帶安步去買菜，一起煮飯，或是猜食材名，滿六個月的他剛成為奶粉市場上定義的「較大嬰兒」，這兩天開始吃副食品，我做了蘋果泥，他很有興趣的呢！

這是一輩子都能受用的事吧！

聽(^_^)／★＼(^_^) 蔡小龍來也

今天早上六點被安步的格格笑聲叫醒，真是幸福到最高點，這小子如果「睏巴爸」（睡飽飽），醒來的心情通常很優，自個兒在床上玩耍，格格笑。他似乎是個很愛聽人講話，也想找人說話的小人兒，大尾跟他玩時他特別會發出各種各樣的聲音，像是很high的尖叫聲，或是某種口水在喉頭上方震動的笑聲，最近還發出類似李小龍打架時的叫聲，想起他還在肚裏時我們曾經開玩笑說，乾脆叫他蔡小龍，沒想到有一天真的李小龍上身了！

アベ君をおんぶしました！

一個禮拜前母親教我怎麼用傳統背巾將安步背在背上，乍看之下好像很難上手，但把握訣竅幾次練習後一個人也可以將安步背在身上，在家中走來走去，切切菜，洗洗碗，到陽台看看花草與天空。背巾是我的二阿姨車的，花色是黑底小白花，非常雅，一條長長的布從安步的腋下繞上我的雙肩，在胸前打叉後再托住安步的tuchus兩回，每次綁完都會去浴室照鏡子，不知道是被背起來很high還是看到鏡中的小男生很high，安步每次都蠻樂的。

出門通常都是用combi的嬰兒背帶，母子面對面，雖然能掌握他的狀態，但安步的視線總是受阻，累了也不太好睡，而我走路也總是有雙重心。現在多了一種選擇，希望安步能大開眼界！

Sharing Soundscape

A friend once asked me what I enjoy doing with Sebastian. Sharing a soundscape would top the list. Here I document some of the programs, podcasts, albums, genres, and formats which we listened to, danced to, and fell asleep on:

(1) "The Pleasure of My Company" by Steve Martin (audiobook)
(2) This American Life (weekly radio programs from Chicago Public Radio)
(3) Nodame Cantabile soundtrack (from the immensely popular Japanese TV drama)
(4) Against the Grain (in-depth political/economic/cultural analyses from KPFA-FM, Berkeley, California)
(5) Motown, Funk, R&B, Country, Jewish radio on last.fm

To Pacify or Not? 奶嘴不奶嘴？

So the daycare teacher had gently brought up the issue of a pacifier again. When she first mentioned it, both D and I took the same firm stance: Sebastian hasn't needed one since birth and we don't plan on stuffing him with a dummy. But now that Sebastian is eating his hand quite happily and regularly, it got us thinking again.

Who is the pacifier for? Are there good reasons for giving one's child an artificial nipple? The internet is full of advice and personal stories on this matter. But as Sebastian's parents, we just gotta come to our own decision. I remember the first time when the thought of a pacifier entered my mind. It was during a shopping trip to search for a playmat. To save time, D and I decided to visit different stores and I got the little guy. There he was, lying flat on his back in the stroller (his least favorite position) and getting agitated by the minute. Finally, he burst into a good cry in the tiny store, which shocked a passerby. I pushed the stroller around, hoping to calm him with the motion, but he was determined to cry. All eyes were on us, actually, on me. That was when I felt perhaps something (a pacifier) may be missing. Yet at the same time I felt it was absolutely normal for an infant to cry. Why should the adults shove a kid with a pacifier just to conform to the social etiquette in the adult world?

As D kept telling me, it's good that Sebastian has learned to comfort himself by sucking his hand. He distinguishes clearly between my breast and a glass bottle, as seen in his preference in the order of "breast milk from mom," "formula in a bottle," and "breast milk in a bottle." In fact, he gets quite angry with breastmilk in a bottle, like he's been cheated or something. So the little guy is smart enough (OK, maybe it's just plain instinct) to gravitate toward human warmth rather than artificial warmth. Although I have my postmodern moments and enjoy sci-fi stories and manga where the woman/machine distinction is blurred, I still think it's top priority for Sebastian to experience as much human-produced warmth as possible. Plastic warmth? Simulated warmth? I'm sure those opportunities will come.

My other reason for not wanting to use a pacifier has to do with "voice." I know it's probably a coincident that Sebastian is able to utter something like "An-bu" at such a young age. But at least he's trying to use his tongue in an interesting way. He isn't mimicking the sounds D and I make yet. But he sure is listening, for rhythm, pitch, and the volume. I am always amazed by the kind of sounds he makes. The man is communicating for all I know! And I don't want to shut him up out of the convenience of the adults.

Who knows? Sebastian could start rapping any minute!