Pulling Up

It's a little nerve-wracking to sit and watch your 6 month old pull herself up on a coffee table.  I imagine the cracked tooth, the broken nose, the busted lip and so on as she slips and smacks her face on the edge of the table.  I suppose this is the risk that one takes as they learn new things.  And the risk I take for refusing to cover my furniture in foam and rubber.

Today she made her first attempt at cruising.  I guess she really wanted that book on the other side of the coffee table.  It was a failed attempt as she only moved one foot and fell forward (into her mother's loving arms) BUT we tried again and she did it!  I certainly didn't expect her to start cruising before 7 months old. I doubt she'll be able to keep it up when we get home because our furniture is bigger and I don't think she can reach the top of most of it yet.

My Traveling Bear

I'm guessing the people with the hotel room next to ours were really wishing they had chosen somewhere else to stay last night and this morning and probably yesterday afternoon too.  S has been a miserable pile of poo since we got here yesterday.  Screaming till she choked at naptime and bedtime.  Shaking her hands in furry and screaming at the sight of a bottle at dinner time.  Woke up all night and refused to go back to sleep more than once.  She finally ended up in bed with us around 4 am (for the 2nd time, but for good this time) and FINALLY went back to sleep around 5:30 until 7 am.

I'm glad this is a work trip for Matt rather than an actual vacation because if I had paid to be here I'd be more than a little annoyed...and let's face it, I'm already quite annoyed just because I'm exhausted!  And poor Matt had to be out the door around 6 something this morning.

When we get home, life as S knows it is about to change.  I am done feeding her ALL night long.  We will be phasing out the nursings and comforting her from the side of the crib.  I am quite certain it will be more exhausting in the short-term but I am praying for more sleep in the long term because I need my rest to be a patient, thoughtful and loving teacher and mother this fall.

Saw the most precious thing today

First let me say that I'm celebrating today because S slept for 3 three and a half hour stretches.  Probably seems silly to most to celebrate such short stretches at 6 and a half months old, but since she's been waking every two hours for the last couple of months...this is progress.  I've been trying to stretch her daytime feedings so she's only eating every 3-4 hours instead of every 2 hours.  I was hoping that maybe it would change her nighttime feeding schedule too and so far it seems to be helping!

Anyway, this morning (at 8:00 am!!!!), I heard sweet baby coos on the monitor.  I waited for a while...waking up slowly.  And when I finally went in, she was laying on her side, eyes slightly open, thumb in her mouth, cooing.  It was by far the sweetest thing I think I've ever seen.

A tiny angel

Sometimes when S is just tired enough to fall asleep in my arms without the thrashing and screaming battle that commences on most nights and pre-nap times, I look at her tiny little angelic face and forget that she ever screams, ever kicks my arms with her insanely strong legs, ever grabs hold of my tiny hairs at the bottom of my hair and holds on for dear life, ever keeps me up all night long and makes me feel like my sanity is slipping away.  She's just a perfect angel, resting, peaceful.  And I smile.

She Makes You Feel Special

My S seems to have a way of making people feel like she just adores them even when she's never met them before.  I went to a library sale on Sunday and had my hands quite full with books, a bag and my little S.  It was a-bag-a-buck day so you know I was loading up on books for my classroom.

A sweet little group of silver-haired ladies were sitting nearby, working the sale and apparently talking about S.  Eventually one of the ladies came over and so adorably said, "We hold babies for free so mommies can shop."  Harmless and nearby, I agreed.

I looked over to see my darling resting her head on the lady's chest, all cuddled up and sweet while smiling at the other ladies who had goo-goo eyes.

The rest of the day she smelled of strong lady perfume, and I was reminded of what a sweety she is every time I cuddled her until bathtime.

SwimSuit Shopping :-(

I have never been fond of wearing swimsuits and in fact rarely wear one in public without a cover of some sort.  I now, however, realize that I should have appreciated my body while I had it because swimsuit shopping these days is a new level of ick.

Okay, yeah I have some tummy rolls and my breasts are huge (well, huge for me that is).  But most clothes hide it enough that I don't feel too bad about it most of the time.  BUT, oh, the horrors of trying on swimsuits yesterday.  They suck everything in and pop all the wrong spots out.  Horrible, horrible, horrible.  What's a girl to do, I'm thinking...  We're going on a trip with a ton of high school students on Monday and NO WAY am I wearing anything that lets my knockers pop out every which way.  I'm not even starting on the tummy rolls.

Depressed, I bought some swim shorts that are rather conservative and mom-like, leaving the top shopping for another day, thinking I'd probably just wear a tank top and give up swimming.  However, today, much to my delight, I found, what I believe to be, a tasteful tankini that is loose in all the right spots and holds in my mondo-milk-dispensers. Yeah, I wouldn't call my new two-piece sexy in any sense of the word, but it works for my current "situation."

Review: Babies (the documentary)

I went and saw Babies last night.  It was amazing.  I laughed and smiled and enjoyed every moment.  More striking to me than the differences between the babies, were the similarities.  Although the cultures each baby is immersed in is very different, I could see pieces of my little S in each of the babies.  The giggles, the yawns, the cries, the gaining control of their bodies part by part.

I laughed when one of the babies came over and grabbed a hold of his mom's breast and began to eat.  It reminded me of the time my sweet was sitting on my lap and scooted her body down and grabbed a hold and started eating.

When another was frustrated because she couldn't figure out her toy and she threw herself back and yelled and banged her arms around, it reminded me of watching S trying to learn to scoot and throwing her face into the ground and screaming in frustration.

I especially loved watching the interactions between the babies and the animals around them.  And of course I thought of my bug and her puppy Bella and how she giggles when she sees her and tries to pull her ears and yank her skin.

It was a beautiful picture of what I already believe to be true:  Every family finds its own rhythm and babies adapt to the lifestyles of their families.  As long as babies are loved and that love is shown through the meeting of their needs, babies grow and learn to adjust to the rhythm of their unique family.  What a wonderful reminder to trust our instincts as mothers and fathers.