Learning to Cuddle

Those of you who have met my son know that he does not like to cuddle. He wants nothing to do with being held; he has too much to do. Until recently.

In the past week or so, Robbie has discovered how much he likes affection. One night, he cuddled with me before he went to bed. Granted, he had a bottle of milk. But, still. He spent twenty minutes rocking with me before I put him down. At one point, he rolled over a little and let me rub his back. Robbie had his head buried in my elbow and occasionally threw his head back to give me a huge grin before snuggling up again for more. And now he comes to Justin and me for kisses, although he's still not sure how much force to use as he throws he head into our mouths. There have been some painful encounters...

Last night, Justin decided he wanted to cuddle with Robbie a little, so he brought the baby into bed with us around 10:45. Roberto stayed asleep for a little while, stretching out across Justin and smiling in his sleep. Justin tickled Robbie a little, and Robbie started laughing with his eyes closed and a big grin on his face. He rolled over onto his belly for a little while and snuggled closer to me, so I could rub his back. After a few minutes, Robbie sat up and moved between Justin and me to get kisses from both of us and then took turns laying his head on our shoulders.

A few months ago, Justin asked me if I thought Robbie knew that when we kissed him it meant that we loved him. I said I thought so, but I really wasn't sure. Now i know that he realizes that hugs and kisses are good, and he gets a kick out of them. And I'm hoping that, even if it's only at night, Robbie might be more amenable to a little cuddling.