r has been making leaps and bounds with his hands over the past couple of weeks.  I can now give him a toy and he’ll push it straight into his mouth.  I love watching him cup his little paws around his Sophie the Giraffe.

Talk about oral fixation.  There’s always something in this kid’s mouth.  It’s either Sophie, his hands, my hands, my sweater, his arms, a boob, something.  And if there’s nothing in his mouth, it’s because he’s trying to get something into his mouth!

His poor little hands are so chapped and eczema-like since they’re always wet with slobber.  He’s even starting to get a rash on his chin because he keeps it perma-slobbered.  And I don’t even think he’s teething yet!  What is going to happen when he starts teething?!  I am a little scared to imagine it.

To prepare for teething, Oscar has been wearing an amber necklace since he was one month old.  He was having some intestinal issues and his skin was always inflamed, so I put the necklace on him as soon as I opened the package.  Now, I don’t know if the necklace helped with those issues or if he just out-grew them, but I’m hoping the necklace thwarts off some of the unpleasant side effects of teething.  We really don’t want Oscar Dragon to rear his ugly head again.  I would be quite happy if the Dragon never returned.