Babby is really starting to enjoy books.
Around two months of age, he started becoming increasingly distracted by my own books, since one is invariably hovering over his head when he is breast feeding.
(Before you judge me, you have to understand. For me, reading is like breathing. I don’t “find time” to read for the same reason I don’t “find time” to inhale. Even when I was working full time, I managed to sneak in an hour or so of reading during the work day. Lunch was Readin’ Times. So nowadays breastfeeding has presented itself as the time to read (along with while I eat and before I sleep at night, and when I bathe and…). I mean, Babby’s on the breast constantly and there’s only so much staring deeply into his eyes that I can do. Plus he mostly stares at my armpit anyway.)
The black and white contrast of text on paper began drawing Babby’s gaze. By three months, he was clearly beginning to wonder “what is Booba-Lady staring at?” and so he would flip around to look. He began to reach out to the book, and gently run his hands along the page while I read it out loud to him.
When the Flight Attendant on our way home to BC after Christmas took Babby for a walk up the aisle, she returned him with “wow, he likes books, doesn’t he?” Apparently he had been goggling at another passenger’s open book.
“I think he likes the contrast,” I told her. I mean, I’m not so delusional as to think that my child is starting to be interested in reading. He just knows that there’s something fascinating to me about books, and he’s trying to figure out what that is.
Then he started trying to turn the pages the way I do, except his method was to grab a page and crumple it in his fist and then yank.
So I decided that it was time to hand him his own books. We now have story time before bed every night, where he cuddles in my lap and his Daddy reads Sandra Boynton to him while he reaches out to grab and attempt to turn the pages. He has varying success at this task.
I handed him a book one day to see if he would try to turn the pages on his own.
He did… for a minute.
If By Yes 
I *always* read while breastfeeding. I think for the first week maybe I tried staring at them while they ate, but it just felt weird. I mean, I don’t like it when people stare at me while I’m eating. 🙂
I still find it a little odd when he takes his eyes off of my arm pits and studies my face instead. Big eyes trained on me while his fish mouth goes suck-suck-suck on my booba.
Liam was just like that! We started reading to him at about the same age. 🙂 We liked to lie on our backs on the bed with the book above us — made it easier for him to see but he couldn’t grab. To this day, books are still one of his favorite things. Or magazines, catalogues… even flyers! Especially the food ones back in the day. They were excellent for building his vocabulary. (He prefers the toy ones now, of course.)
Jonah was less into books at the early age, but is really loving them now. If one of us is reading to Liam, Jonah will crawl over from wherever he might be, stand up beside us and scream. That’s his impatient way of saying “Hey! Me too! I wanna look at the book, too!” 😛 My favorite thing is when Liam “reads” TO Jonah, telling him what the pictures are. Adorable! 🙂
As for reading while breastfeeding, I do that too… online. After a while, they get too distracted and stop nursing and/or take the book from you. The computer’s a better choice then. I try to catch up on my books at night.
My mother says I used to love turning pages on magazines. She could keep me busy for an hour just turning the page of an upside-down magazine, pretending to read.
Frances has always loved books, too – occupational hazard of living in my home, I guess. =) Do you have any local library programs that you guys can start going to – I quite enjoyed them when I was on my mat leave…
Yes, I think there are although he’s still a tad young yet. He still thinks books are for eating.
Alex still eats books. You should see our copy of Moo, Baa, La la la.
What’s really neat about reading books to your baby? When they start acting out sounds or actions in a book you’re reading to them.
Whenever Alex wants our attention, he’ll bring books to us. How can I say no to a little person wanting to hear a story?
Twp of our favourite Sandra Boynton books are Snuggle Puppy and Snoozers.
Our Boynton collection is not yet complete. I want to get my hands on the one about the dinosaur who lost his binket.
I ❤ the Pookie trilogy as well. They are very cute. I aspire to be like Pookie's Mom.
And yes, I mean that I am less than three.
Wow. Moo Baa La la la. That takes me back. Our copy is very decrepit.
Reading is awesome. Do it ALL THE TIME in front of him. Encourage your husband, too. Especially for boys, it’s important to see that it’s not a “girl thing” to read.
Oh yes, PH is a big reader too, although he tends to always be reading three books or more at any one time, and just happens to flip through whichever one is closest to him.
Who’s judging you for reading while you are breast feeding? I got caught up on my reading, computered, played Phoenix Wright on my DS and watched daytime television. I cuddled with her too, but considering that 75% of my time was spent either breastfeeding or sitting under a napping baby, that’s a awful lot of baby cuddling in the run of a day.
It’s true!
Oh, I love Sandra Boynton! Our collection is not complete because the books get loved to death and have to be replaced. Currently I’m missing “But Not the Hippopotamus” and “Dinosaur’s Binket”. I recently replaced “Hippos Go Berserk”… for perhaps the eighth time. It’s been a LOT of years.
Judge you? I ALWAYS read while I breast-fed. When else was it going to happen? Beside, I always figured they were getting all of me they needed right then. Eye contact? Totally gratuitous.
I’d read my son the newspaper as he ate. No judgment from this momma.