i'm not sure there could be anything on earth as delightful as parenting a five-and-a-half-month-old baby. at least, nothing as delightful as parenting this five-and-a-half-month-old baby.
she is happy virtually all the time. she smiles at her toys, at the cat, at random corners of the room. she can spend twenty minutes sucking on the corner of a stuffed animal, or putting her binky in and out of her mouth, or lying on the floor, squealing and blowing raspberries until her entire face is dotted with spit.
nothing makes her happier than catching sight of me or her daddy. when he comes home at the end of the day her entire face lights up and she makes this noise of excitement where she inhales and squeals at the same time. i take her into the bathroom with me when i shower and play peekaboo with her as she sits contentedly in her chair. each time my face pops out from behind the shower curtain she smiles as though she hasn't seen me in a week. on sunday i went out shopping alone, leaving bebe home with josh for the longest period of time we've ever been apart: three and a half hours. when i walked in the door, she was standing up in josh's lap on the couch and she did this unbelievable happy dance, her feet going a mile a minute as she smiled broadly at me, clenching her fists and arching her back.
nothing makes her happier than catching sight of me or her daddy. when he comes home at the end of the day her entire face lights up and she makes this noise of excitement where she inhales and squeals at the same time. i take her into the bathroom with me when i shower and play peekaboo with her as she sits contentedly in her chair. each time my face pops out from behind the shower curtain she smiles as though she hasn't seen me in a week. on sunday i went out shopping alone, leaving bebe home with josh for the longest period of time we've ever been apart: three and a half hours. when i walked in the door, she was standing up in josh's lap on the couch and she did this unbelievable happy dance, her feet going a mile a minute as she smiled broadly at me, clenching her fists and arching her back.
i can barely remember, now, how stressful things were for a few months. when she was fussy for hours at a time, when she wouldn't nap, when i felt like i was going to keel over from exhaustion and she wouldn't. let. me. put. her. down. now, an entire day can go by and the only time she cries is for two minutes after i put her in her crib for a nap, until she falls asleep. her naps are getting longer and more predictable and she wakes from them happy and ready to get right back to the business of being adorable.
it's even harder to remember the very earliest days, when my nipples were cracked and bloody and i needed to practice my labor breathing whenever she ate. our nursing relationship now is so easy, so comfortable, so sweet. she knows what i'm asking when i say, "do you want to nurse?" and she buries her face into my chest to let me know that she does. it's so nice to have these moments throughout the day, when we sit down and are quiet and snuggle together, sharing this amazing connection. i hope to maintain it for a long time. (current WHO recommendations are to breastfeed children for a minimum of two years.)
the big challenge of recent weeks has been bebe's early morning wakings. we finally arrived at a solution that is working well for us right now. when she stirs, anywhere between 4 and 5 a.m., i go get her and bring her back into bed with us, where we lie down and i nurse her. she falls back to sleep for another hour or more, and the fact that we are all getting more sleep is only one of the benefits of this new arrangement. bebe and i get to snuggle together while we sleep, which has to be one of the best feelings ever. even better, though, is getting to wake up with her. as she begins to stir, she starts warming up her voice, her little coos getting louder and longer as she turns from side to side, batting at me and at josh in turn until we open our eyes and return her smiles. a couple days ago, she woke up blowing raspberries, for crying out loud.
as josh said to me recently, "i wish we could just take every day and freeze it." i know the months and years ahead will be full of their own joys, and i do look forward to watching bebe grow. but i am in no hurry. i'm fully enjoying right now.
it's even harder to remember the very earliest days, when my nipples were cracked and bloody and i needed to practice my labor breathing whenever she ate. our nursing relationship now is so easy, so comfortable, so sweet. she knows what i'm asking when i say, "do you want to nurse?" and she buries her face into my chest to let me know that she does. it's so nice to have these moments throughout the day, when we sit down and are quiet and snuggle together, sharing this amazing connection. i hope to maintain it for a long time. (current WHO recommendations are to breastfeed children for a minimum of two years.)
the big challenge of recent weeks has been bebe's early morning wakings. we finally arrived at a solution that is working well for us right now. when she stirs, anywhere between 4 and 5 a.m., i go get her and bring her back into bed with us, where we lie down and i nurse her. she falls back to sleep for another hour or more, and the fact that we are all getting more sleep is only one of the benefits of this new arrangement. bebe and i get to snuggle together while we sleep, which has to be one of the best feelings ever. even better, though, is getting to wake up with her. as she begins to stir, she starts warming up her voice, her little coos getting louder and longer as she turns from side to side, batting at me and at josh in turn until we open our eyes and return her smiles. a couple days ago, she woke up blowing raspberries, for crying out loud.
as josh said to me recently, "i wish we could just take every day and freeze it." i know the months and years ahead will be full of their own joys, and i do look forward to watching bebe grow. but i am in no hurry. i'm fully enjoying right now.
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