theDickersons.com

Andrew William Dickerson was born on January 16th, 2008 at exactly 8:15 AM. Weighing in at 6 lbs, 10-1/2 ounces, he was 19 1/2 inches of pure fury, shrieking like a banshee for the first several hours of his life.

Thankfully, he has calmed down considerably since then.

It is interesting to have a second child, because it gives you a new opportunity to reflect on what aspects of your previous child are what God gave you, rather than what you “did” to raise him a certain way. Both of our kids are really happy, easy-going infants who smile a lot and readily woo the ladies with giggles. Benjamin was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks of age, while Andrew is usually up until 11:00 PM and still wakes Mom up at 3:00 AM on the dot (Dad sleeps right through this). Andrew is a good eater, and is putting on weight well. He takes a pacifier, something Benjamin never did. At about three months of age his eyes turned brown. He also seems considerably stronger than his older brother was at his age. When I carry him I have to be extremely careful, because he has a habit of lurching suddenly out of your arms with surprising strength. He is also demonstrating good leg strength, even at four months. Andrew also has a prominent widow’s peak, not unlike my twin brother David. It makes me wonder if he will lose his hair early like David did. He is a little more tan than Benjamin is, but beyond that I don’t think there will ever be a question that they are brothers. The only significant difference may wind up being the widow’s peak and eye color.

Andrew likes to be bundled, which is not unusual for babies at all. However, Andrew has a tremendous talent for wriggling out of his bonds, and then getting really upset about it. I think maybe this has something to do with the fact that he likes to suck his fingers, but then can’t control his arms once they are free. Even in utero Andrew carried his hands up near his cheeks, like a boxer protecting his face. That is the posture he still takes when sleeping. I’ve tried to bundle him with his hands up like that, but a few simple shrugs and he’s out of that, no problem. So instead I do the bundling charade with him, knowing that it won’t keep for long.

My mother wrote in my baby book that I used to feed well, but then spat up about a third of what I ate every time. Andrew is living out that Dickerson curse upon Emily every day. She tells me she now plans her day around feeding time, knowing that there is no use putting on nice clothes until he has yacked up on her at least once. It is now my habit to make mental note of where the burp rags are, whenever I see my wife carry him into the room, because I know it is only a matter of time before I will be asked, in a frantic voice, to sop up some mess or other, somewhere in Andrew’s vicinity.

It is for this reason I have decided that Andrew’s wrestler name will be Bile Shock, as he can vomit up large quantities of white, viscous goo with the slightest provocation. Unfortunately, we haven’t worked out what the trigger is, and as far as I can tell, he hasn’t figured out how to control this impulse either. But I have little doubt that with some experience in the ring, he will learn to employ this technique on his enemies for devastating effect, leaving them blinded and at his mercy. This unusual ability comes at a price, however — this utterly adorable, happy little one usually has… a reek. No pleasant baby smell, here; no sir — this baby almost always smells like vomit.