What is a problem once won't be a problem forever. Tilly used to cry when she was digesting food, and I wondered how I could possibly solve that. Then she just got over it.
What works once won't work forever. We've tried so many things to get Tilly to sleep. At one point, when she was about five weeks old, we were doing it all at once: we would put on her Fisher Price water noises, turn on a fan, swaddle her, rock her, put her down in her Moses basket with a clock hung on the side, a watch under her back, her sheepskin propped up at the edges, and a drop of lavender oil on her blanket. Then, when her eyes inevitably opened, we would pick up the basket and swing her (sideways, not back and forth), then oh-so-gradually put the basket down in her crib. Slowly, we realised that all those things weren't really necessary. And our backs couldn't take any more basket-swinging.
Some babies really don't like to be rocked to sleep. Some babies scream even louder when you try to rock them to sleep.
No matter how hard they are to get to sleep, it's always so lovely to see them wake up again.
Pacifiers don't solve everything.
For us, the Baby Bjorn does solve everything. For about an hour or so.
Some babies are born with a decent amount of hair and then seem to get balder.
People at Walmart will touch your baby. Even if she is in a front-carrier.
People will talk to your baby even if they don't speak English. (And, by the way, Tilly seems to understand Japanese just as well as she understands English)
People will say "Who's this little guy?" if you dress your daughter in anything other than pink. Pale green with flowers apparently equals 'boy' these days.
Babies don't care at all about toys. Tilly has yet to grab for anything other than my hair or the cloth I'm trying to wipe her mouth with.
Tilly's eyebrows turn bright red when she gets tired. Nothing else... not the eyes, just the eyebrows.
Tilly's ears turn bright red on occasion. So do Justin's. What funny things we inherit.
Time goes slower in Tilly's room. Once, we were baking cookies, when Tilly woke up and started to cry. Justin went to put her back to sleep, and returned assuming the cookies were ready and I'd eaten mine. They were still in the oven, only half way done.
Babies surprise you. Though normally, Tilly would cry all through a trip to the pediatrician (five minutes from our house), when we took her to Temple (an hour and a half away) she did really well.
Babies will sleep through doorbells and vacuums and weed whackers outside their windows, but wake up the instant you try to watch a movie.
Pacifiers don't solve everything.
For us, the Baby Bjorn does solve everything. For about an hour or so.
Some babies are born with a decent amount of hair and then seem to get balder.
People at Walmart will touch your baby. Even if she is in a front-carrier.
People will talk to your baby even if they don't speak English. (And, by the way, Tilly seems to understand Japanese just as well as she understands English)
People will say "Who's this little guy?" if you dress your daughter in anything other than pink. Pale green with flowers apparently equals 'boy' these days.
Babies don't care at all about toys. Tilly has yet to grab for anything other than my hair or the cloth I'm trying to wipe her mouth with.
Tilly's eyebrows turn bright red when she gets tired. Nothing else... not the eyes, just the eyebrows.
Tilly's ears turn bright red on occasion. So do Justin's. What funny things we inherit.
Time goes slower in Tilly's room. Once, we were baking cookies, when Tilly woke up and started to cry. Justin went to put her back to sleep, and returned assuming the cookies were ready and I'd eaten mine. They were still in the oven, only half way done.
Babies surprise you. Though normally, Tilly would cry all through a trip to the pediatrician (five minutes from our house), when we took her to Temple (an hour and a half away) she did really well.
Babies will sleep through doorbells and vacuums and weed whackers outside their windows, but wake up the instant you try to watch a movie.
Sometimes, just the way they stand (Tilly leans slightly forward, butt out, staring at something) can make you laugh with delight.
There does come a day when it is possible to leave the house. Even to go out twice.
2 comments:
What a great list of some of the details that have stood out to you while mothering your beautiful, wide-eyed girl over the last 16 weeks. Happy 16 weeks, Tilly!
I love the picture, and the list. And I have to add that Tilly has really elegant, beautifully shaped eyebrows. Also, I almost always put a bow on Bella's head when we go out in public to avoid the gender confusion issue. I don't know why it is that every color, other than pink, is assumed to be clothing a boy!
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