One day in the future, I am sure to think back to Simon at eight months and miss the little baby that he is now. When that day comes, you can be sure that today will be long forgotten-an absence of memory I welcome as a gift from the nostalgia fairy. For today Simon has fussed, moaned, whined, cried, and screamed all day.
He awoke at 8:00 crying, he fussed through nursing, he fussed through breakfast, he fussed through play-time, he fussed through diaper changes, he shrieked during an attempted nap, he fussed during three others, he moaned during lunch, he wailed getting into his car seat, and he screamed bloody murder when it began to rain on us when we finally got outside.
All in all, today has been exhausting and not much fun. I began the day saying, “Don’t cry honey”. By late morning, it had become a more urgent, “Don’t cry honey!”, by afternoon we had hit, “Please don’t cry” and by now we are squarely in “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD QUIT CRYING” territory. Matt gets off the phone in twenty minutes, at which time I am plunking Simon in his lap regardless of how much more work he has to do.
I’m 99% sure teething is to blame for Simon’s foul mood, and thank goodness the worst of early sleep deprivation is over. Because about now I am getting quite a good reminder as to how shot and desperate and ill tempered I could get during those early months. It’s not a place I want to revisit any time soon.
I am also beginning to wonder how important those baby teeth are. Can’t they just gum their food until the adult ones come in? Crazy as this may sound to you, about now it seems completely reasonable to me.
Epilogue: At around 6, I decided to go to Whole Foods to shop for frozen organic baby food. Some things I can’t make, and our rotation of supplemental jars was getting small and boring. Plus, I needed to get out of the house. When I came home, Simon nursed, then promptly knocked my bowl of salmon chowder off the kitchen island and-simultaneously-threw up. It seemed like the perfect ending to the not-so-perfect day.
But then something funny happened. I got out one of the new foods, spinach sweetened with pears and mangos. Simon went wild. It was the happiest I saw him all day. He banged his hands on the high chair tray, kicked his legs, and squealed in delight between each bite. After which he took a very happy splashy bath and then went straight to bed. So we at least got a happy ending!