Friday, April 29, 2005
Hot and cold
Today was a day of reminders -- that a good night does not equal a good day, that smiles in the morning don't mean smiles later on, that a parental cold streak can quickly end, and that Ella is a gem and a darling with lots of patience for her baby sister (but not endless patience -- tonight, Ella said that she wishes Lindsay was a baby that didn't cry at all; and she also said, "Everything bad is happening" as Lindsay cried in the car and Ella's spilled goldfish crackers all over).
It's Friday night at 9:45, and I've already fallen asleep on the couch once. So we'll keep this short. But for documentation purposes:
It's Friday night at 9:45, and I've already fallen asleep on the couch once. So we'll keep this short. But for documentation purposes:
- What a glorious sleep last night! Lindsay slept from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., and then again from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. It was a wonderful surprise...
- ...and then Lindsay this morning gave me three or four series of smiles and happy faces. She's not quite mastered the classic grin yet -- it's more like she smiles with her eyes first, and then she opens her mouth wide in a smile-like way. I see progress here for sure...not that it's a race or we're measuring her against the development charts or anything. It's more like we are awaiting consistent smiles because they are one of the first ways that a baby starts to give back. It's all one way at the onset -- give, give, give. She need not pour her own glass of milk, but a smile of recognition and a gesture of happiness would (and do) make our days.
- The day that followed the great night and the happy morning was downright ugly, for the most part. Lindsay only took one decent nap, nursed erratically and was often rattling the windows with her yelps. I worked from home and Nicola and I took turns...
- ...and it turns out my cold streak ended! Three times today I got Lindsay to break out of a fussy loop and fall asleep in my arms. A nice boost for the flagging confidence.
- I think that covers it. Ella was very patient with Lindsay tonight, popping in the pacifier in the backseat of the car and trying to help calm her down. Later, as Lindsay was hypnotized by Baby Galileo, Ella cleaned between her little sister's toes and pointed to a pile of lint on the floor as proof. Nice! (Clean toe spaces is one of Ella's pet peeves.)
Tomorrow we host a play date for three of Ella's friends from school: Grace (the future lesbian?), Caramia and Zoe. It should be fun!
// posted by Bill @ 9:43 PM 
