got milk?

Two firsts tonight. We put Benjamin to bed on new sheets. He seemed to fall asleep. Half an hour later, Benjamin wouldn't stop crying. Nathalie found him sitting up in his crib!

So she guessed it was the new sheets that were upsetting him. She changed them while he sat on my lap and laughed (he really keeps himself entertained!) and then we put him back to bed.

He was crying again within 5 minutes. We gave him time to self-sooth, but he seemed more and more upset. So Nathalie checked on him and told me,

"He's asking for milk!"

I went in to see him while she prepared a bottle, and sure enough, he was sitting up again, and when I asked him if he wanted milk (using both the spoken English word and the ASL sign), he signed back "milk."

I felt a little guilty for being so elated and proud of my boy when he was so clearly hungry and upset. But his mother said she felt the same way. At not-quite-9-months-old, our boy can tell us why he's upset. (At least, if the reason he's upset is that he wants milk. Other signs to follow.)

One bottle later, and he's sleeping soundly.

- very proud papa

Postscript from maman: The second time I went into Benben's room I asked him if he wanted milk ("Tu veux du lait?"), at which point he sat up (and stopped crying, I think) and signed "milk."

-very proud maman