Party Trick

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a climber.

After attempting for what seems like months, Catherine's height and persistence finally prevailed as she climbed into Daddy's chair yesterday.

She then realized she could climb over the back of her fuzzy chair... or use her chair as a stepping stool to reach things she couldn't reach a couple days ago... like Mommy's coffee.

Baby proofing just got real. I'm in trouble.

Today

Today was one of those days. You know, the days where only a couple hours in, you're ready to call a do-over? It really all started last night. Last night, as I was getting C ready to take a bath, she had her first walking catastrophe. 

The bathroom makes me nervous anyway. While virtually the entire house is baby proofed at this point, it's pretty impossible to make tile floors and bathtubs not hard and scary. So, as I was filling the tub, C was unrolling the toilet paper (I pick my battles). She was so excited to have toilet paper in both hands, that she ran toward me, arms outstretched with her new find. Then, because she's been walking for all of four weeks, she lost her balance and, before I could catch her, face planted into the edge of the tub.

It. was. terrifying.

There was screaming and crying and then I saw the blood and then I was screaming and crying. I completely lost my composure. I called Husband, who was still at work, in hysterics. She wouldn't let me look in her mouth so I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from. I was hoping she had just bitten her lip, but was imagining an ER visit and stitches. She was doing that kind of crying where she gasps for air in between screams, only making me cry harder. 

Husband quickly snapped me back into gear, reminding me that my freaking out was only going to make her more scared. So I took a deep breath and began treatment. We used ice chips in a mesh teething bag, a cold wash cloth, and a sippy cup of ice water to soothe until the Advil kicked in. Then we snuggled and snuggled and snuggled while she cried for a couple hours. Finally, at 10:00, she fell asleep. I thought we had made it. She would sleep it off and feel fine in the morning.

Then she woke up... an hour later. We watched Baby Einstein. We watched Elmo. We had a snack. I even got desperate and reverted to a bottle, but when your lip is cut and swollen, no bottle or paci will work. She finally cried herself to sleep at 4:00. 

Today, our morning started at 7:00. She woke up screaming. A sippy cup of milk and some morning cartoons (plus more Advil) calmed her down a little, but our day was pretty dicey from there. No morning nap. She finally crashed around 12:45 for 30 minutes. Then, with dinner plans at 5:30, I put her in the car at 4:30 hoping for a car-induced nap on the way.

But...surprise! The garage door broke. It went up 6 inches, it went down 6 inches. I used the manual release and all the strength my arms could muster and it wouldn't budge. We were trapped in our garage. Awesome.

So I cancelled dinner plans, unloaded C, and gave her a snack since a nap was clearly not happening. Then it was decided. This day was in desperate need of brownies.

So C got to eat brownies for the first time AND the whole mixing and pouring process was distracting enough for her to forget she was tired and cranky. Win win.

And then, against all odds, she actually let me rock her to sleep at 7:30. Tomorrow is another day. Until then, I think I'll eat a few more brownies and go to bed. Sometimes being Mommy is exhausting.

Parenting Fail

I am far from a perfect person, but I consider myself a pretty good mom. That being said, I make mistakes. I have accidentally pinched C's cute little thigh when putting her in the high chair. Sometimes her bath water is a little too hot or, in my attempt to remedy that, a little too cold. Sometimes I realize at 5:00 that I have forgotten to give C her 3:30 dose of medicine. But, the majority of the time, most days, all goes well. Everyone is happy and fed and bathed and dry and playing safely behind a baby corral, tucked away from the death trap that is the rest of our house.

Today was not one of those days.

Let me preface this by saying that she is totally fine. As I (slowly) type this, we are sitting on the rug, playing with toys, seeing which ones make the best noises when shaken. But this morning, I failed.

We're still not sleeping through the night completely. While, it's getting better, C more often than not, ends up snuggled next to me in our bed after her 6:30 bottle in an attempt for us both to get a little more sleep. She was nestled next to me, engulfed in my arms, sound asleep with her fuzzy little blanket clenched in her fist. So I closed my eyes to join her. I was awakened by a loud THUD followed by crying.

She had woken up, crawled out of my arms and across the entire width of our king sized bed, and fallen off the other side onto the hard wood floor.

I rushed to her, picked her up, and panicked. I tried to soothe her while crying myself. After only a minute, she was smiling, with a little red bump on her left temple. I knew what signs to look for from other moms telling me similar stories, but I called the doctor to make sure. Sure enough, if she wasn't overly lethargic, vomiting, or crying inconsolably, she was fine. I was relieved, but still so upset with myself. For weeks now, I had been worried about this happening. C is not only very mobile now, but also very curious. Needless to say, our days of morning snuggling in bed are over (at least while Mommy is sleeping).

I share this story because that's the point of this blog. If I only shared my triumphs, I'd be censoring myself and my readers from the truth that parenting is hard and not all days are perfect. I am so lucky that she is okay and that a tiny bump on her head is her only battle wound from this morning, but I'm not naive enough to think that this is the only time in her life that I will screw up. Luckily, my good parenting moments far outweigh the bad; but, for the record, the bad are absolutely heart breaking.

Growing, Going, Gone

As C grows, each "first" is somehow more exciting than the last. From her first smile to her first giggle and from rolling over to sitting up, each is a cause for celebration, for photos and videos emailed to family and posted to facebook. It's amazing to think about all of the simple tasks we complete each day and imagine our parents willfully watching us, coaching us, and celebrating with us as we accomplished these milestones years ago.

Well, we have had a mobile child for a while now, watching her scoot and roll herself to her desired destination. But, now, we embark on new territory. Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have a crawler. 


Last Tuesday, after a night of scooting around in a pink poodle costume, C looked at a toy with sheer determination, pushed up onto all fours, and made her way across the floor. I cheered, I clapped, and then I took her toy away and put it on the opposite end of the rug so I could video her latest trick. 

Her newest skill paired with a slight case of separation anxiety toward mommy, and my heart melts. For the record, there is nothing cuter than a crawling baby... except when she's crawling toward you. I hope this stage lasts longer than I think it will. (She's already trying to pull up...)