Baby Books Leave Stuff Out

The book says Mowgli is the right age to discover his feet. He is indeed doing new things with them, though he's been kicking his bath toys with great accuracy for a couple of months. Now he also grasps the bath scoop between his feet to raise it to his hands, then pours the water inside into his mouth. Yay, baby! Luckily the soap is entirely edible, or so claims the bottle. He seems to like the taste of highly dilute Over-Tired and Cranky formula.

He has also learned to seize his incoming fresh diaper monkeylike with his toes. Then he gives a mighty heave and attempts to fling it across the room. I have learned to swiftly anchor it beneath his butt before he's managed the grab. He's heavy enough to make a good paperweight against his own strength.

Nobody warned me that either of these behaviors were on the list of possibilities. The baby books just have charming pictures of babies grasping their feet or perhaps stuffing those tasty little toes into their mouths. Mowgli appears to feel that these babies lack imagination.