Helpful Baby Fridays

I'd like to take this week to go sentimental and retro, all the way back when the Helpful Baby was born in October.  He was a real pumpkin baby-- completely orange with jaundice.  They didn't catch it at the hospital and it became pretty severe by his three day checkup, so he was readmitted and stuck in an isolette.  (Most people pooh-pooh jaundice as a panic-worthy thing, but severe jaundice can lead to brain damage. Okay? Tell that to new parents with a pumpkin baby and see how they react!)

This is an EXTREMELY TRAUMATIC THING for a brand new mom coming down off pregnancy hormones to experience.  I was in charge of this brand new life and struggling to figure out what to do with him, only to have him stuck full of needles and put in a plastic cage where I couldn't cuddle him!  I cried the whole time until they finally let him out (see the picture above of daddy cuddling him and the IV pole), and I pretty much haven't let him go since.

Fortunately, he got over that whole jaundice thing and is a happy, healthy baby, for which I'm immensely grateful.

This week, I went on to prove that I'm a HORRIBLE TERRIBLE WORST MOM EVER by taking Helpful Baby for a hike (so fun! so stimulating! so interesting!) only to get his little face SUNBURNED.  Argh!  I hate myself.  Poor little chublet.  Why? Whyyyy?  Now he's a tomato baby instead of a pumpkin baby!  *pulls out hair*

Okay, deep breaths.  He's okay.  Really.  It wasn't much of a sunburn, but I still feel terrible about it.

He helpfully slept great all week and started rolling around in the middle of the night in bed, which is giving me paroxysms of terror as well as a neck cramp.  Tiny babies are such big bed hogs!  I'm not looking forward to him learning to crawl.  I know I'm going to wake up one of these nights and see him marching for the edge of the bed.  (At which point the mattress is going on the floor.)

How is your Helpful Baby helping you this week?  Post a picture of your baby on your blog (whether s/he be an infant, fur baby, or helper of any other persuasion), share a fun story about them, and drop a link in the comments!