Andrea’s Weblog

I think my stress level is finally decreasing. Up until the last week,
I’ve been so afraid that she’ll start crying at any moment and we won’t
be able to console her. It sounds silly, but I really have a hard time
grasping the fact that there are really only 3 main reasons why babies
cry. They are either: hungry, have a dirty diaper, or need sleep. The
confusing thing is that the alert noise for all three of these is the
same. As Frank says, It’s like having a car with only one warning
light.

The big moment when my nervousness went away was when I took Elizabeth
by my office to meet my coworkers. I arrived carrying a sleeping infant
and everyone crowded around eager to see her and tickle her little
toes. Suddenly the innocent babe turned into a crying machine. As I
tried to console her (while still trying to carry on conversations with
various people) I noticed that the circle that was once within arms
reach of her had expanded as far away as it could. If the walls of the
room had not held them in, I’m sure they would have fled to the other
end of the building. Frank thinks we planned it in order for my
coworkers to see that I’m not at home taking it easy munching bon-bons
by the pool. I realized that as a parent, you can only do so much to
prevent embarrassing incidents like these, but the baby is a separate
person with her own agenda you can’t control.

It’s been a big help to learn how Elizabeth works. We’ve learned that
if we put her in a baby sling, she’ll usually go right to sleep. (We
never go anywhere without the sling anymore.) She also likes being
swaddled very tightly when she’s tired. She seems to really like being
in a womb-like environment. This shouldn’t really surprise us–since she
was a week late, I figured she must like it in there.

Every day is a new adventure around here. Now, a good day consists of
getting to shower and brush my teeth before noon. On a great day, I can
check my email. I’ve started taking her in the shower with me, just so
I can shower in peace without worrying about dashing out to insert a
pacifier. She seems to enjoy the water, but has a hard time
understanding why she can’t eat in the shower. . .