the hardest aspect of this entire baby number three experience is being unable to soothe and comfort my own child. this is round 3 for me. i should know what i'm doing. i should be able to calm her down and figure out WTH she needs. but. you know how sometimes (and i'm speaking mostly to my female peeps) you just need a good cry? somehow, that clears your mind? well, obviously baby tess needs a good (ok, awful) cry every night. hey, just go with me here... i'm happy to announce that two outta three nights this week she has been calm and happy and cooing and smiling. i kept waiting for the tears, and they never came! i'm praying she's turning a corner. that long, never-ending, winding, blind-where-you-can't-see-around, corner. baby {tess} steps.
this is about THE best: smiling. isn't it what we just strive for, since they're born? ohmygoodness. those first big grins just about knock me off my feet. she was smiling for gramma a few weeks ago, and she was smiling at my you-know-whats during feeding, but i had yet to see her smile, an intended-for-me smile. THUD. yep, that's me on the floor.
oh fan, i wuv you.
but alas, not all times are joyous...
last saturday was gorgeous. we met up with friends for an early walk, as benji had to put in some hours at work. although, that didn't stop us from playing outside ALL DAY. the fun continued when dada returned home, as jb begged him to ride his four-wheeler. he's getting a little too comfortable, these days. but oh - it's so fun to watch him grow and learn and do his own thing. i'm sure dylan would love the chance to zoom! around our island, but for now, she's limited to a different kind of four wheels...
one of the first pictures - since her birth - of me and my THREE children. it's kinda hard to believe. still. even with tess and her very known presence, it's a little surreal to say i have all these kiddos constantly vying for my attention. some days i feel like i'm barely staying afloat, but other days, like today - i'm blogging, i'm freshly showered, my hair is dried AND flat-ironed, i have a full tummy, and i'm hydrated! what?! life seems practically normal. eeek! did i just put that out there?! they do say bad things come in three's: we battled the stomach bug around week 4; week 7 was mastitis for mama, and now - what's next?! c'mon, universe! give it to me!
i know everyone looks at jb and sees a mini-ben, but let me just say that duey is very much ben's mini. attitude, spunk, spirit, tenacity, wild-side, craziness... yep, she is ALL her dada's girl.
Annie, I can totally relate to the screaming, inconsolable babe. Charlie had what we lovingly (HA!) referred to as her " witching hour". Every. Single. Night. For 12 or so weeks, starting around when she was 2 weeks old she would scream her ever loving head off. Nothing, I mean NOTHING I or Jacob would do helped. If we held her, she creamed. If we layer her down, she screamed. Walked her around, she screamed. Everything that worked for Grant did not work for this child. I cried out of frustration and exhaustion. I began to absolutely dread night time. From about 9:30/10:00 until the screaming ended approximately an hour after it started, specifically. But, slowly it started to get better, instead of every night, it would be every other or only 3 times a week. Finally when she hit about 3 months or so she stopped altogether. It was bliss! Of course now, we're dealing with all the fun and moodiness of a 3.5 year old girl but we love her anyway :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear its getting better for you. Just remember how fast this baby stage goes, no matter how awful it seems, Tess will be toddling around trying to keep up with her older sibs before you know it! Love the pics, she is such a gorgeous baby!
thanks for your comment, erin. it means a lot. yeah, times were pretty rough there for a while. ugh. there were evenings were, like you were saying, nothing soothed her at all, so i would just lay her in the middle of my bed and let her cry it out. 5 minutes, 10 minutes could have easily been an hour! we had another cry-free night last night. i thank God for those! wondering what tonight will bring... my husband is baffled by this all, thinks there is something wrong with her and that she hates him :( i know it's just a matter of time before she prefers him! right?! thanks again for your kind words! xx
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