My Son, the Narcissist

Hudson is sitting on the bed with me and we're hanging out while mommy is working out - she'll be back soon. Meanwhile, the hanging out and playing with the musical table turns into fussing. And for no real reason. He shouldn't be hungry, its not naptime, he just got up from a nap an hour ago. So I start holding him up and talking to him...lifting him in the air and talking to him. Fussing the whole time. Pretty much the whole time. Then I lift him up in front of the mirror and he stops fussing instantly. I take him down from in front of the mirror and he starts fussing again. I put him back up in front of the mirror. He stares deeply into the mirror, laughing coyly at himself...thinking, "I'm so good looking." So I take him down to test - fussing ensues. I put him back in front of the mirror and he reaches out to touch his reflection (just like in the story of Narcissus I think, minus the reflective pond) and when he does he smiles. Then he says to himself through his facial expression, "I am the most handsome 7 month old to ever grace this town" (of several million). So you see, my son is a Narcissist and I didn't teach him that. Some call it self-discovery and recognition. That might be true if he wasn't fussing all the other times he wasn't able to stare at his chubby little face (I say that in love, I like his chubby face - though not as chubby as once before). He's fussing in my lap as I write this. I'm sure when I turn the screen off and its black, he'll be able to see his reflection a little and all will be well again.

Jason