Cutting our teeth

As most of you are aware, I am not a scientist. As a first-time Mom, however, I am obviously an expert in infant development nonetheless.

So here is my latest scientific finding.  My kid doesn't have teeth yet because his brain has been too busy learning to crawl. I even have proof! There are five babies from our NCT group with teeth. None of them crawl. There are two who don't have teeth -- and they both crawl. See? Science.

I like to think this is because Jack wisely figured out that while food would come to him essentially pre-chewed for the forseeable future, I was probably never going to consent to carrying him under the table so he could gum our computer wires. (note to self: definitely get those wires out of sight before the teeth arrive!) In reality, it was probably just random. But the point is, the human brain can't learn to do everything all at once.

The unexpected side-effect of this scientific realization is that I've finally let myself off the hook for not "getting much done" during mat leave. It's ok. My brain was busy doing other things. Like learning to be Jack's Mom.

Now that I know my way around that department and he's able to be even the tiniest bit independent, I'm getting quite excited to sink my teeth into something new. I'm back at work two days a week and I have a little business idea percolating away in my brain. On Friday, I actually took Jack to nursery for a few hours after swimming lessons just so I could work on said idea and whip up some magazine pitches in service of getting back to doing work I love, instead of just doing the work that's available.

If the fountain of dribble streaming from Jack's face is any indication, he's getting ready for the next big development, too.