I spent 45 minutes this evening rocking my inconsolable two-month-old son back to peace, and as I did so, I did some thinking.
First, I have a good baby. He goes down for naps and bedtime beautifully. He calms down 99.5% of the time with one of more the 5 S’s (thank you, Happiest Baby on the Block). He nurses well. He doesn’t fuss when I change his diaper. He likes baths. He smiles at me and has this lopsided grin that will charm the stoniest heart on Earth. Gabriel is a good baby.
Secondly, babies cry. After determining that my baby cannot be hungry, hot, cold, wet, insufficiently burped, gassy or in pain, I must conclude that sometimes Gabriel cries just because. And that’s OK. I’m not going to take it personally, because I’m doing the best I can.
And because with the dozens of huge smiles he beams at me all day before he dissolves into evening tears, I know I’m doing something right. 🙂
Love it! Is that your house? Is that an empty tub of ice cream next to the sink? LUCKY.
Erin, I love your blog and your faithful spirit (I read though several of your posts)!! This most recent posting hit home with me. It will be these moments that stay with you long after you finally get baby down to sleep. And I mean it in a good way…I know hard to believe in the moment, but trust me. I still recall rocking and nursing my first born until my legs AND boobs hurt so bad. I think we were in our second hour of this, so I just had to cry with him. I think it stunned him to see someone else crying and we had a wonderful bonding moment. I realized that yes, it can't be taken personally, and some babies/children just need holding, love, touch, etc. at certain times. My little 4 month old is that way right now. She loves to cuddle, and yes, she pacifies a bit on me, but I know it it only a moment in time, not the rest of my life – so I try to enjoy it! Oh, and I also found that singing the ABCs to him helped a lot! Best of luck! And I love the football-hold picture of the boys – classic!!
Awesome picture Erin!
What every father does with his child… and you've captured it. Erin, you've learned something that I STILL have yet to learn. Congratulations!