I do believe in some of that stuff that say about birth order.  I buy into even more now that JD has been around long enough to see where he fits in with the crew.  Linus is in the middle, and he is surprisingly protective and caring toward JD.  I suppose this shocks me because more likely that not he is going to smack the snot out of his big brother the moment I turn my back.  Oh, and Linus?  You cannot plead innocence when I could actually HEAR the sound of your hand against your brother’s body.

Poor JD has gotten the short end of the stick in a lot of ways.  He is the third child to wear the baby clothes, though I will say Old Navy sure does know how to make some sweatpants.  Those things are still intact and will be moving on to my cousin’s son.

While he gets read to, the stories are not usually age appropriate.  Scooby Doo and books on WW1 fighting planes just are not his speed (or mine either, and for the love of God, don’t come near me with another Waldo book!).

What really hits home is that he is not a very verbal baby for the most part.  Sure, he coos and sings and has a few words he says really well.  Mawm.  Mawm.  I thought he was saying “mom” until it turned out he actually means “I crapped my pants and am ready to be changed”.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he has a significant delay or something amiss.  I am quite sure he just can’t get a word in edgewise around here!  His brothers do all the talking for him.  If they are busy, JD is very adept at communication.

It is pretty hard to misunderstand the baby hanging onto his high chair and crying desperately.  Is oos hungwee?  Yes, oos is!

Ditto for when I am cooking and he is trying to climb my legs.  “Are you sure it isn’t done yet?  It sure smells done!  What do I have to do, go hang from my chair again?”

JD has grown into high demonstrations of emotion as well.  Daddy has to leave for work?  Cry and follow him around for maximum guilt tripping.  Take a tiny Lego out of his hand?  He has moved beyond that precious face crumpling and into throwing himself onto the floor in outrage.

And for the love of God, don’t mention “bath” unless you want the baby standing outside the bathroom door!  I have seen him tug at his shirt, trying to get undressed after hearing it is “bath night.”

I know my little sponge is soaking everything up.  I am pretty sure he could say a lot more if he had to (or had the opportunity to).  While at my MIL’s house, he dropped a toy onto the floor and said “oh no!”  Later he said “all fall down”.  Ok, it was more like ah fah dow, but my MIL heard it too and we both knew what he meant.

JD has learned the power of the point.  One pudgy little finger to show just what it is you wish to have!  How magical!  He enjoys pointing almost as much as walking.  Sometimes he resorts to charades.  If he fishes a milk jug out of the recycling bin, well, you know what he wants.  I attempted to teach him sign language, complete with the little baby book of signs.  JD probably knows the sign for “sleep” but instead relies on his tried and true method of ripping things out of the cupboards frantically to let me know he has had enough of wakey wakey.

Not to mention crying.  The well-seasoned mother knows her baby’s cries.  The “I am almost asleep cry” is very different from the “big brother just snatched a chokeable toy out of my hands and boy am I pissed! cry”.  My husband can recognize the early morning “change me, give me some milk, and lay me back down” cry.

Another aspect of being a seasoned mother is feeling quite all right with not knowing exactly what he is saying.  With the first baby, they cry and you say “I wish I knew what you wanted!”  You know better than that by the third baby.  This phase is all too fleeting.  The next thing you know, they are seven and will tell you exactly what they want in such detail that you long for the days when plopping down a pile of Cheerios was enough to make it stop.

Soon both older boys will be back in school.  Linus will begin kindergarten, and JD will finally get more attention geared toward his age.  I look forward to poring back over the books for toddlers (they have words I can pronounce) and watching Sesame Street together (ooh look!  The cute detective from L&O: SVU is going to read us a story!).

I feel more relaxed just thinking about it!