In the Arms of Others

As we were all sitting around the Christmas dinner table Stanley was in the arms of cousin John (above), who is married to Barb(far left), the sister of Andy whose house we were at. Not confused yet? Barb and Andy are just two of the children of Grandma Sally's first cousin (am I getting this right?) So if I remember correctly Andy and Barb( and their siblings) would be Sally's first cousins once removed. I think that would make Andy and Barb - Mike, Jen and Sue's second cousins. Have a look here, I think I'm correct. It's so confusing. To simplify - Andy and Barb and siblings = family.

Stanley with all the kid cousins!

Anyhoo. At dinner Stanley was so at ease with whomever was holding him. We were all so impressed. Mike's sis Sue and hubby Dave have their doctorates in psychology - Sue's is in child's psych so she can read Aki Bear's mind. Not really, but she's as close to a baby-brain-encyclopedia as a human can be. They were saying that when he gets to be closer to 9 months old he will get stranger anxiety. So, several months from now he may not be so easy going with all of these cousins and strangers holding him. I asked why that is, why is he o.k. now but won't be later? They said that he still thinks he is as  one with his parents, he doesn't realize that he is his own being (or something like that.) When he is around 9 months old he will start to become aware that he is separate from us, he is his own person and that is what will make him and other babies around that age anxious in non-mom and non-pop's arms. Interesting, yes? I thought so. I'd be full of nerves too if, for my entire life I thought I was safely attached to someone and then one day (((BOOM))) I realized that I was actually on my own - separate from my safety net. I can understand that. I will try to comfort him during that transition and explain to him that we're still here for him - even if he doesn't quite understand us yet.