Friday, March 28, 2008

Open Letter to Colin Meloy; or, How To Get Through Teething

Dear Colin and the rest of The Decemberists:

I don't know if you guys have any kids - which, along with the fact that I had to actually look up the spelling of your name, is pretty funny. When I was younger I could tell you anything about anyone in any of the bands that I loved, from New Kids on the Block to Marilyn Manson to Bob Dylan to Tori Amos. I'm not sure when I stopped obsessing so completely about the people in the bands as much as the music, but I don't feel the loss that much. Except in cases like this, when I want to earnestly thank you.

You see, what I started to say is that I have a baby, six months old. If you have kids, you know that there are times that no matter what you do, you can't figure out what is going to make it better for your crying baby. You've changed her diaper, you're trying to feed her, you're snuggling her and singing, and she's still inconsolable. You know she's hungry, but she's too upset to eat. And after hours of this, you feel like crying yourself, because you just can't make it better and that's heartbreaking.

This will happen more than once.

Eventually, something will make it stop. She falls asleep, or she decides to take the bottle. Sometimes something triggers it - you make a particular face that causes her to smile, and come out of her black mood. You make just the right "shush" sound that lulls her to sleep. Or you turn on the iPod and put it on your favorite Decemberists playlist because mommy needs some comfort, too. And then the baby goes quiet and smiles, drinks her bottle, and goes to sleep.

Twice in her young life, Charlotte has been consoled by your voice, Colin Meloy, when nothing else worked. And for that, and the sleep that came after, I thank you.

Sincerely,
Jenn & Charlotte


(cross-posted to LJ, too)

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Still teething. Still Not King.

There will be posts put up and backdated for Easter, Charlotte's six-month birthday, and Red Sox opening day. Once I have time to upload pictures that is. And once I have time to actually breathe.

Today has been NUTS. Charlotte is miserable, and no combo of Tylenol, Hylands, and Baby Orajel is working. She's eaten less than half the amount she usually eats, and she's had far fewer wet diapers. I'm seriously worried that she's going to get dehydrated. After repeatedly pushing away her bottle - ALL DAY LONG - I had the brilliant idea tonight to give her a sippy cup. She's getting only a little bit that way, but it's a little more than the nothing she was getting.

Today is one of those days where I'm both exhausted and amazed.

Two big things today: the sippy cup and noticing music. We were listening to "Peter and the Wolf" today, and every time a new instrument came on, she'd turn her head towards the speaker. Before she didn't really seem to notice music unless we were singing a long with it. Or, rather, she noticed it when you turned it on or off, or if it was particularly loud, but she didn't really pay attention to the changes within the music. So that was pretty cool.