Have you ever joked about that “new baby smell”?  Well Julia still has it, and it turns out that the new baby smell is not only real, but useful.  It has been reported that the phenomenon is caused by pheromones excreted by infants, and that men are more attuned to them than women.  This mysterious mechanism is apparently designed to overcome the agressive and potentially dangerous urges of the male and allow the young to grow old and strong enough to someday borrow the car.  Now every time I hear a story about some jerk who hurts or kills a baby that will not stop crying I will wonder if the guy had a cold.  Perhaps Breathe-Right nasal strips ought to be prescribed to fathers of colicky babies.

Baby Julia is now practicing her smiles every day and loves it when I play guitar and sing for her.  She enjoys prolonged eye contact even more than her mother, loves to kick and coo during bathtime, and stares at her ceiling fan friend going ’round and ’round much as Baby Boots (Dylan) did just a few years ago.  At nearly three months of age, Julia retains her olive complexion, slate blue eyes, surprising shock of dark hair, and still has furry hair on the backs of her cute little ears.

One of my favorite things to do with baby is to give her a bath then put her in a cute new outfit.  Baby clothes are different than regular clothes, and not only in size. Snaps are to be found on the sides and backs of shirts as well as at the crotch of onesies, but that does not fully explain the difference either.  The fundamental difference is that baby clothes are fragile in time.

We were given an enormous bag of gently used clothes from my summer friend Duane as well as many outfits from neighbors, friends, and family. There is no way that Julia will wear each item before she outgrows them, at least in part because favorites emerge.  Most of the clothes will be given to my brothers who are both expecting baby girls shortly (we are in the midst of a Brandon baby boom). Other baby stuff will find its way to local thrift stores, but a few pieces will be put away as keepsakes and saved for the far off possibility of grandchildren.