11 Months

A Trip to Arizona

Dear Scarlett,
We went to Arizona this weekend (the 8th state you've been to.) Grandma and Grandpa were there from Florida, and we all stayed at Uncle Matt and Aunt Robin's house. You loved the house and inspected every corner of it, played with all of Jade and Grant's old toys, and flung food all over the floor for the dogs to eat. You were a hit with everyone, and you absolutely love your Grandma.













Unfortunately, this all meant that you were far too excited to sleep. At all. This included one entire day with no naps, and one very long night of Dad patting you back to sleep every 10 minutes. It was rough.

Now that we're home, we have embarked on a new round of sleep training, and it is truly turning into a test of wills. Dad and I have spent the last two nights in the living room, drinking wine and reading aloud from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to remind ourselves that it is ok to let you cry. (Ok, last night I was the only one drinking and the only one reading aloud. But cut me some slack--I hate it when you're upset.) The problem is that you stand up in your crib and refuse to lie back down. One night you stood up for 5 hours. We went in several times to return you to a prone position, but you popped up immediately after we left. Where oh where did you get this stubborn streak?

The good news is that last night was better. We're making progress.

Despite your lack of sleep, you've been in a remarkably good mood (if a bit clingy.) You are still in love with your books and can sit for prolonged periods of time flipping pages and moving every single book from one side of you to the other, and then back again, all while ignoring us and our video camera.

Your newest odd habit: when you're done "eating" a banana, there is an entire banana left and a bunch of mouse-like nibbles all over the peel. Dad assures me this is ok, but I'm not sure he really knows since he's not a doctor. Or a nutritionist. Or a monkey scientist.

You have fallen head over heels for zucchini, love to read Spot Goes to the Park with Dad, and bit me about 37 times in the arm while we were in Arizona. And yet, I still find you utterly charming.

Love,
Mom

The Morning I Left

Business Trip

Dear Scarlett,
I am in New York, and you are in San Francisco. There is something so wrong about that. But it's true. I'm here for work and it will be a quick trip, so I keep telling myself it's not going to get that bad and I won't die from missing you. And so far (although it's been mere hours), I have not died. Saying goodbye to you at the airport was hard. Mostly because you kept swatting me in the face when I tried to kiss you, and I might have done the same thing if someone was trying to give me 387 kisses in 30 seconds.

In the airport, I experienced a complete seesaw of emotions. One minute I was happy--I'm in the airport without a baby! I don't have to worry about what anyone else needs! I'm going to be able to read my book on the plane! which quickly devolved into--What am I doing here? My arms have never felt so empty. I can't believe I have to pump on the plane.

Now here I am at the hotel, and I have just talked to Dad who reported that you had a delightful day, which included a trip to Best Buy, where you flirted with everyone who moved, and stared at the big TVs. But you have also been tugging on your ears all day, because you are still suffering from the dreaded ear infections.

Yes, it turns out you were resistant to your medication. We went back to the doctor and got you a second prescription, but you made short work of that by throwing it up all over Dad and the floor. You are now on the third medication and although it seems to be working, I am not a doctor and don't actually know if it's doing anything to clean up the raging mess going on in your ears. So I ask myself again, what am I doing here in a New York hotel when you have to go to the doctor tomorrow morning?

But the answer is, Dad can handle it. Aunt Lizzie will be there. You really do seem to be doing much better. And maybe, just maybe, I'll have my first full night of sleep here in this tiny, hot hotel room. But my arms still feel pretty empty.

I miss you,
Mom

Sick Baby

Dear Scarlett,
You are sick. And I'm not talking about the fact that you like to put your mouth on the bathroom floor, although that is totally gross. No, you are actually sick: a double ear infection that brought on your first fever and some other, Exorcist-like symptoms. We were in Lake Tahoe this weekend--your first trip there--when the trouble started. You were stuffy and wouldn't sleep. By the time we headed home Sunday, things had taken a turn for the worst. You've slept with me for a few nights now, and this morning, you spent hours in Aunt Lizzie's arms, the only place you would sleep.

I feel a little bit bad about saying this, but I love how snuggly you are when you're sick. I hate the fact that you can't sleep, hate hearing your sad little cough, and hate thinking about you in pain. But once you have taken your medicine and your fever comes down, you snuggle into my arms and it's just the sweetest thing. Normally if I try to snuggle you, you will endure it for a minute before swatting me in the face, contorting your body in order to chew on my ponytail and then launching yourself at the floor to chase the cats. So forgive me for finding things to enjoy about the past few days.

Feel better soon,
Mom

Napping with Dad

Conquering Daddy's Sock Drawer