Baby photos

May 24, 2019 • 9:15 am

I have no heavy intellectual content today as I’m on vacation. But here are some pictures of Professor Ceiling Cat (Emeritus) with a human infant (Homo sapiens in statu nascendi).

This may be the only photograph in existence of me holding a baby   . (I get scared to for fear I might hurt them.) Meet Selma Louise Ludovico, the 7 month-old granddaughter of my hosts in Cambridge. Her father is Brazilian, mom is American, and she’s an adorable hybrid. And she seemed fascinated by “Uncle Jerry,” as I’m known around here.

We have a discourse on free will:

 

42 thoughts on “Baby photos”

  2. So cute! And it’s not the first time you’ve been called Uncle Jerry!

  5. Selma Louise seems to be thinking, “I may be ‘in statu nascendi’, but I’m sure considering grabbing those spectacles since I couldn’t have done otherwise.”

    1. … said the alligator.

      (I’m sure that sounds far more sinister than you intended. 😉

      cr

  8. free will is a good topic to start with – good warm up for the chelicerata.

  11. Adorable!

    Moreover, I dare say that those who believe that they cannot deal with children are the best carers. 😉

  13. AWWWWW! Great pix. And now she’ll have lots of great stories to share about her famous uncle when she is much older.

  17. Yes, babies are cute.

    But it boggles my mind to think that anyone would conceive one now.

  19. Nice. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have a photo of myself with a baby. Oh well.

    1. My most recent is ten years old. It’s pretty funny that Jerry is doing better than me in this department. Auntiness is about the only thing I’ve got him beat on!

      Gorgeous pics Jerry. Looks like the visit is going well. 🙂

  20. What a delight to see.

    In your “discourse” with Selma Louise on Free Will you might share the following post with her:

    https://qr.ae/TWNQYF

    Also, a good topic for further “discourse” is to mention that Carl Linnaeus wanted to label our species as ‘Pan Sapiens” but changed it to ‘Homo Sapiens’ because of an anticipated hostile response from religion.

    It’s amazing that Selma Louise is getting such high level communication as she still rocks in the cradle.

    Hoping you have many more such moments!!

  22. I’m very fond of babies, but I don’t think I could eat a whole one.

    (Yes, I know that joke has cobwebs all over it, but I just couldn’t resist)

  25. Whenever I hold babies I always think they are going to suddenly stop breathing and die. I think I’m not the only one because I’ve seen comedy routines from Tim Minchin & Ricky Gervais that reference that.

    1. Used to be afraid I’d drop them, or wrench an arm trying to keep them from dropping. But I have a longtime friend who was a bruise expert for DCFS(Dept of Children and Family Services) in Chicago.

      She tells me that babies are pretty much like Tupperware, a lot more resilient than they look. But you don’t want to hear how she knows that.

      1. I can imagine how she knows that. Let me just say, I’ve seen documentaries on monkey babies being mishandled frequently by members of the troop. Aunts or siblings, for example. I mean, they don’t necessarily deliberately mistreat the little creatures, but, they might, for example, have a tug of war over who gets to hold the baby. This can sometimes lead to death of the infant, but more often the little one survives to pass on genes for surviving these abuses. Probably early humans went through much the same gauntlet. Bones are flexible, not brittle. Skulls are soft not subject to fracture. A little fat here and there can ease a fall, etc.

      2. Yeah children and babies are a lot more resilient than people think. What will break us will a bounce to them.

    1. Your very well protected. I notice you even have wrist straps to keep anything from seeping in. Probably 7 mm thick too.

  31. Great Photos Professor Coyne! I have several Grandchildren ranging from 4 to 19 years old. Trust me Doc, you won’t break her.

  32. Beautiful baby! I have a 6 week old and shes the best thing that has ever happened to me! Yes it was scary for me to hold her at first, shes my first one. It gets easier!

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