Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Single Mom For A Week - Part Two

Emily Rose took a good afternoon nap and then considerably cheered up, despite the absence of her beloved brothers. We enjoyed our day together. She "helped" me get caught up on laundry. I had to hold the dryer door open with one foot, while bending over the washer to pull out and transfer the wet clothes. She eventually got the message that I wasn't ready for her to slam the door. When over that obsession, she hoisted herself up onto the dryer door, and managed to get her head and shoulders IN the dryer. I pulled her half-pint body out, much to her annoyance. Routine activities go so much faster, don't they, with babies in tow?

Rose has been known to get up on the opened dishwasher door and stand up, squealing with delight at her feat. Loading and unloading the dishwasher during her non-sleep times is pretty much a wash. It's comical to watch me open the door, then move at fast-forward speed, pulling out as many clean dishes as I can before Rose comes around the corner, ready to "help".

There's more. Mealtimes have become quite interesting here, and are not for the faint of heart. Emily now stays seated in her highchair for all of seven minutes. Then, she promptly stands up, giggling proudly from her regal height. No amount of settling her back down convinces her to finish her meal. We don't want to get in the habit of putting her in our laps during meals. Therefore, we just get her out and send her on her way, telling her she must sit down to finish her meal. Hopefully, she won't lose weight. At fourteen-months she's growing more slowly, so perhaps she's getting what she needs in the seven minutes. Nursing is still providing calories, fat and nutrients, so it all rounds out. She's still managing a well-balanced solid diet.

I never realized how much her brothers keep her occupied. Since she's usually NOT underfoot, I assumed she was an independent young lady. Now I'm not so sure. She sure wanted me by her side all day today. Perhaps her brothers usually fulfill her need for companionship, or maybe she IS independent, but the teething pain is causing some neediness. I can feel one edge of both of the first-year molars. As well, I can feel one part of what must be an incisor. My shoulder has been bitten several times today, and while nursing she keeps getting off to massage her temples. Boy, my heart goes out to her. Twice I have given Tylenol today.

Next Day

Thank goodness! Emily Rose slept through the night last night! I put her down at 7:40 PM and she awoke at 6:15 AM, nursed, and slept until 7:45 AM. Twice in the last two weeks, she has slept through the night. While I really needed the sleep last night (six straight hours), if this trend continues, it will be one of the most bittersweet parts of my fourteen precious months with her. It's hard saying goodbye to nighttime nursing. I've always loved it. But, of course, there's more excitement to come! Everything is new and so much is fascinating to babies. Through their eyes, it all becomes new and fascinating for us as well. I'm up for it!

5 comments:

molly | mommycoddle.com said...

Hi pam,
thanks for your comment on my blog about prayer. such a good reminder for me today...

Evenspor said...

Glad things are going better. I can so relate to the comments about eating. That's one of the advantages I loved with nursing a toddler. At least I knew he was getting something nutritious everyday.

Andrea Frazer said...

I don't mean to laugh, but she sounds so much like Pip. I hope you're doing better? I have been there with the lone parenting, and it's hard. Really hard.

Hang in if you can, okay? Go, Pam, Go!

Evenspor said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog. It made my day. :)

Ashley said...

I definitely feel for you being a single mom for a whole week. Whenever my husband has to work late or be gone for whatever reason, my respect and awe for single moms who do it every day jumps tenfold. (As well as my appreciation for my amazing husband.) I can tell from your blog and your comments on BabyCenter that you have a wonderful relationship with God, and I'm so glad you have that support to hold you up. I've said a quick prayer for you, and hopefully you can enjoy this mother-daughter time the rest of the week.