A Ribbiting Adventure
Greetings gentle readers!
Hope your holidays were wonderful and fabulous and the new year is treating you well so far.
As you can imagine, our holidays were the most special ever with Puddin Face in da house! She did exceptionally well on Christmas, I felt, for someone who isn’t a big fan of that paper-ripping sound. There were some wide eyes more than once, but no tears. She’s a tough cookie.
Teething, however…is a whole other story. My good gracious. I haven’t been this tired since she was a newborn. Poor thing. She has trouble falling asleep. She has trouble staying asleep. And rather than putting her down and having to, oh, you know, pick her up again in a half an hour when she fusses…..let’s just say she’s been snoozin a lot on mommy.
Just hush. My baby needs me. And every time I consider the notion that I may be spoiling her, I think she’s going to be a teenager in, what, two weeks?…and then I will be treasuring even more all the times she slept in my arms.
Besides, is it really possible to spoil a baby with love?
Exactly.
So.
Other than that, I had a few health issues that became a few more issues. I kept going to the docs and having tests that proved nothing. My symptoms were so varied it didn’t seem possible they all had one root cause. Finally I asked my doctor to test my thyroid function, since I read that pregnancy can change it. And guess, oh guess what? My thyroid was way way overactive and causing not one, not two….but ALL my symptoms. (these ranged from body temp to respiration to intestinal issues) They gave me a handout when I went to the endocrinologist and I literally had all but one of the symptoms for hyperthyroidism.
So.
Apparently my body kicked into overdrive trying to get back to normal. (when, oh when was the Mayor ever ‘normal’? one may wonder) Despite all this, further testing shows that I don’t have something called Grave’s disease, and the condition is not permanent. Yay! It will eventually resolve itself, and isn’t severe enough to require medication. This is all good news! Meanwhile, I have good days and not-so-good days, and they are going to test me again in a few months and check my levels.
All-in-all it’s a big relief to know that I’m not falling apart, and that it’s only temporary. (it’s even been causing my insomnia!)
Now that you’ve read my long-winded excuse for not being around much, on to the fun stuff!
Hard to believe, but Puddin Face just turned five months old. Just typing that defies reason…..how can it be? Was it really FIVE MONTHS ago that I brought this beautiful bundle home?
She’s been rolling over for a month already. She can roll over back to tummy and tummy to back. Even though she’s never had a bottle (that’s a whole other story…..) she grabs my water bottles and tilts them to her face and sucks on the caps. She grabs her feet and turns the pages in her board books and splashes in her bath. At this moment she is trying to bend the screen on this laptop to see what I’m doing.
She giggles a lot. She is extremely chatty. On three seperate occasions now I’ve asked her “You like that?” or “Is that good?” and she has responded…”Mm-hmm”. I tell myself it’s coincidence, but sometimes….I really wonder.
I tell you what, gentle readers…..there is nothing on earth quite so wonderful as reliving everything through the eyes of a child. I feel like my heart grows every time she looks at me. And when she smiles…….even I have no words.
And of course, there are days when you’re tired, or feeling icky, or stressed out or whatever. But that little face puts everything into perspective.
Whatever else it is, parenting is a never-ending adventure. One day, not too long ago, I was getting ready to take a shower after a long day. We were all really tired and just before I stepped out of the room I hear, “Is that frog clean?”
Before I knew it, I was doubled over laughing. What else but parenthood, I asked, could make that question make sense?
See, we have toys everywhere. The frog is a clear favorite. I try to keep toys in two piles…..one that is ‘clean’ and one that means they need to be rinsed/hosed off/laundered before being fit for chewing again. So in MY world, “Is that frog clean?” makes perfect sense.
Just as any breastfeeding mother would probably be able to make sense out of ‘football or regular?’, parenthood has a language all its own.
“Is that frog clean?”
“What happened to her monkey?”
“How did the octopus end up in the dishwasher?”
Speaking of which….my angel beckons. Will catch you all on the flip side.
Until then…..any clues where I put her rainbow fish?
p.s……anyone who knows me knows that I am not in the LEAST bit political. That changed recently when I saw Barack Obama speak. I’m reading his newest book and am continually impressed. There may be hope for this country yet!