Baby makes three...

Peter absolutely loves the phone. I can't remember exactly when it started but I found this photo of him clutching it when he was not even four months old, so it's been a love affair for over half his lifetime.

At not even four months

In those early days it was just a general fascination, but now he will actually hold it and babble away as if he is talking to someone. It entertains him for a good 15 minutes. He also lights up when he hears the dial tone. There are no substitutions. He has a toy phone that we borrowed with bright buttons that cheerily yelps out "it's A-B-C time!" and other such gems, but it holds his interest for only a fraction of the time. But another person's real phone will do. When we were out with him and he was six months old, he spotted portable phones immediately.

I must admit to letting him play with it every now and then as a distraction. So far he has only accidentally called someone once. But still, it is a little insulting when you're singing "Patty-Cake" to your baby and he's distractedly looking behind you because, "oh my god, the phone is there, and it's been at least four minutes since Mummy let me touch it!"

At eight and a half months