We had our friend Steph come over to baby sit this morning so we could run an important errand for the wedding that we had to do together. Steph came precisely at the time she said she would. The problem with babies – in our adult minds anyways - is that they are inconsistent. To go one further, they are down right unpredictable. It makes it rather challenging in this world of schedules and time tables.
He had woken up in good enough spirits and happily eaten breakfast as usual. Afterwards however, he wasn't so interested in going back to sleep. He didn't look tired so I suggested maybe skipping a nap for once. Michele shook her head. “No way. If he starts making the rules, it's game over for us”. She's right, of course.
Miraculously, he fell asleep just prior to Steph's arrival. Predictably, it didn't last. Just as we were slipping our feet into our flip flops to head out, we heard the dreaded Kael wail come through loud and clear on the baby monitor. Sometimes those devices are just a little too good (ie cover your ears). Michele attempted to wield her most potent of mama magic to try to coax him back to sleep but it was no use. We decided to keep him up for another half hour and tried to put him back down again (as the author of Wiped noted, “put him down” is an awful term – springing to mind an old dog whose on its last legs - but I'm not sure how else to say it either). We warned Steph before we left that there was a definite possibility of a Kaelstorm brewing on the horizon. Sure enough, when we returned an hour later, our little guy was up and wired. Understandably, she could not handle leaving our baby boy screaming bloody murder in his crib. Steph felt bad. The truth is, she never stood a chance.
When his afternoon nap came around, he was out like a light. No wrestling with Curious George and no conversations with Sophie the giraffe. Bam! Out cold in seconds flat. Michele had just left for another appointment at 1 pm. When 2:30 came around, I started to get antsy. It's been an awfully long time, I thought to myself. I didn't really know what to do with myself at this point. I'd finished the important business and was hesitant to begin any new project because he'd be bound to wake up as soon as I begun. Should I just peek in to make sure he's ok? Just one quick glance? Thankfully I resisted all temptation and he finally rejoined the waking world at 3 o'clock much to my relief.
It seems like I just can't win. If he doesn't sleep long enough, I get frustrated by a lack of time to myself. On the other hand, if he sleeps too long, I miss him and want him to get up so bad that I get tempted to wake him up prematurely – something the books say never to do.
One final observation today ( I lied. I just thought of another one) has to do with his head whipping habit. When I'm holding him in my arms, he tends to look away. Everything and anything aside from me is most interesting to him. Or maybe he is hinting that I've got the dragon (listen to Biz Markie's classic song if you need schooling on what its meaning). Without warning, he'll often whip his gargantuan head around with the speed of a shot putter in full momentum just before release. Most of the time, if I'm paying attention, my reflexes are quick enough to move back just in time to hear the whoosh of his noggin fly right by the tip of my nose. But if I'm distracted, I have no chance and our heads collide. He doesn't even bat an eye. Meanwhile, I'm trying to hold back the tears. It friggin' hurts. I'll say it again: babies are tough, man.
Finally, something that'll make you go “awww”. It's something that happens outside. While playing in his playpen this afternoon, a sudden summer breeze swung through our patio that made Kael feel so fine that he stopped in mid-gum to absorb this scintillating natural phenomenon. At first, he couldn't understand what was making his thin hairs on his head dance in the air. But then he did was the majority of us adults don't do. He quit thinking about it and simply enjoyed it for what it was, letting the wind ruffle his hair in its heavenly way. Afterwards, he did not dwell on how amazing it felt either. He just continued playing like nothing even happened. He let it go. I thought that was amazing.
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