Stay Home PaPa

Can Someone Please Give Maddie a Hand?

Posted on November 14, 2011 Updated on January 4, 2012

To tell the truth, Maddie would be absolutely thrilled if you would be interested in sharing one of your hands with her. As far as she is concerned, hands are all the rage right now. She discovered her hands about four days ago and since then, she can’t get enough of them.

When Maddie is not distracted by something else, like her crazy parents or a bottle packed with the good stuff, she falls under the spell of her very own hands. Forget the toys, the bouncy chairs and the baths – the baby needs time alone with her hands and fingers. I’m not even really sure if she has figured out that her hands actually belong to her yet. She stares at them and shares secrets with them. All of this despite the fact that they continue to ignore her taunts and advances.

If I were Maddie, I would be angry at her little hands. (That’s right) They smack her in the head at least twice a day and lately they have even left little scratches all over her face. But Maddie doesn’t seem to care; she still believes that she is in good hands, no matter who they belong to or what they inadvertently do to her.

She also finds that her hands are a terrific snack. Maddie still isn’t into solid food, but I know the first time she is able to order in a restaurant, she’s going for either the finger platter or some nice broiled handchops.

She often tries to fit both of them into her mouth at the same time, but somehow that never really seems to work out. However, since she has begun the gumming process on them, you always count on at least one hand, if not both, being completely covered in baby saliva. (Yummy!)

Maddie is also really beginning to enjoy the various tactile sensations evoked by hand-to-hand contact. When she’s not dining on them or staring at them, she is poking and prodding her very own hands, trying to unlock the secret of the phalanges.

You can try and get involved in the process with Maddie, but all that she will do is put you in the mercy grip until your finger or fingers turn completely blue. She has a great little grip, but she is always anxious to get back to her own fingers. She is bound and determined to find out who put them there and what purpose they might serve.