Darius was past his 2-month-old mark when he started becoming more aware of his hands and how to use them. He had been moving his hands a lot shortly since birth, especially during protests, but his movements have progressed from being ‘robotic’ (the movements always reminds me of an earthworm) to being much more fluid now.

His first discovery began after we placed him on the gym playmat. We have placed him in it before he was one month old (see The 4 (Not-So-Effective) Methods to Pacify a Baby) but he was probably too young then to appreciate the items around him.

This time round, he started to look up to the hanging items above him, which included a bee, mirror and a flower with handles. We held his left arm up and put his hand over one of the handles of the flower ornament, wanting to help him learn how to grip objects.

He released his clenched fist and we helped him lifted his fingers over the handle. We then released our hands and to our pleasant surprise, he continued to grip onto the flower’s handle tightly without assistance! We did not expect him to succeed on his first try and so we were clearly happy with his progress. He could even hold onto the handle for a minute or more without showing signs of tiredness.

We then did the same thing with his right hand and although he managed to grip onto the handle too, it only lasted for a few seconds before he let it go himself.

After repeatedly doing this with both his hands, we discovered that he had better control of his left arm (or at least stronger grip) . This was when we started to think if he is a left-hander like Catherine. It doesn’t really matter to us if he’s a left or right-hander actually, but it would be good to know it early so we will be able to cater to his needs better.

"Can you pass me my dumbbells next?"

Ironically, the second discovery that Darius made was with his right arm. He had started showing movements of rubbing his eyes with his right hand whenever he was sleepy since a few weeks back, but it was until a few days ago that we realised he was putting his fingers of his right hand into his mouth.

This isn’t a very hygienic action, but we were nevertheless delighted of his newfound abilities. We are not quite such if this is a desirable habit for him to learn and cultivate, but it will always be a good thing if such actions can bring him to understand the dynamics of his body better, thus aiding his advancement in other areas.

"See? I don't need the pacifier anymore!"

On another note, we have also rearranged his mattress and the gym playmat to place them all on the Pooh playmat for better access to his needs.

Our 'All-in-one' baby center

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