Bouncing the Baby

If you've noticed a recent increase in posts on our blog it's because Annabel just doesn't sleep much during the day yet. She does best if we are holding her or wearing her and bouncing on the exercise ball. If you could see us right now, you'd see me wearing a Moby wrap w/ her inside - face smashed against the burp cloth I have tucked into my dress like a bib (she's a spitty baby). Me sitting on the exercise ball at our desk, bouncing and writing this. We had the sudden misfortune of the ball getting a hole in it and realizing we don't have a patch-kit for it - YIKES. So, we're using some combo of super glue + duct tape + frequently pumping it back up to keep Annabel (and the rest of us) soothed. There's plenty to do around the house, plenty of people to visit and plenty to do with the family and I'm just not even nearly getting it all done but frankly, I just don't care (most of the time). I'm relishing the newness of this little one's life and how it's brought out some beautiful things in our other two kids. I'm choosing to sit on the floor, holding a nursing baby in one arm and play Go Fish, Memory or Guess Who w/ the other or reading a book to Hannah and Emmett or even better holding one of them and just talking. I'm doing these things instead of the dishes, ironing, another load of laundry, sweeping, making more sophisticated food. I chip away at these other things for the minutes that Annabel isn't in my arms. With her slowly getting a little bigger and a little older (and her reflux slowly improving and my slowly figuring out what may make it worse) she's calmer for longer periods of time. I think she has a really sweet temperament. It's kind of funny to think back to when Hannah was a baby and how quickly I ran to her when she was crying. I'm finding w/ Annabel that I hear her start to cry and I just try hollering to her what I'm doing - like she's going to be like, "Oh, no problem mom. I totally understand. You just finish up what you're doing." It's something like (from the kitchen sink, "Just one more dish sweetie!" and then scurrying off to the bathroom, "Just going pee pee real quick darling, then I'll pick you up!" then realizing while in the bathroom (where our washing machine is) that I really need to do a load of burp cloths and such before the sun goes down (so it can dry), "just throwing your burp cloths in, dear - you are our precious little spitter" - you know, in a sing-song voice, then finally picking her up quickly, getting in tune w/ the fact that she's hungry and then a whole other list starts - "oh! You're hungry! I'll feed you - I just need to go grab a bottle of water and take a peek at what brother is doing to make sure he isn't destroying something before I sit down to feed you and oh - I need to plug my phone in real quick too and ..." It's amazing because she may be screaming but I swear she seems to be calming down a bit more when I pick her up and even smiling at me occasionally. I get the impression that she really likes me and it was so wonderful about a week or two ago when I suddenly had this feeling that I'm really bonding with this baby and we are really enjoying each other. We are created in such a wonderful and mysterious way - at the end of the day my back and shoulders ache, I'm exhausted, my house is a mess (still) and I'm still bouncing the baby or maybe pacing back and forth w/ her and Rees and I look at her and then at each other and feel a surge of love for her and our little family. I love it.
I'm also so amazed at how engaged Rees is with this little one. Not that he was unengaged w/ the other two or anything but I thought that maybe w/ the third baby, and one that isn't quite as quick to smile at us and who needs a lot of soothing during the day (not much at night - Praise the Lord!) that maybe it would be tougher for him. Well, partly due to the fact that he's conscientious of the reality that I could have a nervous breakdown, but mostly due to his very big heart - he takes her from me to do the bouncing job and looks at her w/ so much love, talks to her like she's a princess and settles in on the exercise ball (for the umpteenth time) w/o a hint of "I could be doing so many better things right now" and ministers to his tiny girl - and his grateful wife.

All that said, I found a house-helper this week so now I'll be able to bounce the baby in a clean house, w/ laundry done and lunch made. Heck - I may even get around to our home-school lessons come September!

*Just in case you're curious - I can have someone help me in my home for just under a dollar an hour and that's a good wage and it's a great way for me and the kids to keep developing our Tajik and stay connected to locals since we're home a lot.