I don't know why I haven't written a post about her yet. She is my darling first born. She and I have been through a lot together. Heck, she is lucky to be alive. I mean this because she came upon 2 very young parents who had NO clue on how to raise a baby. When I was in labor with her they told me to push, I yelled, "but I don't know how!" That seems to have been the beginning of many of "I don't know how times!" She was the perfect first child though. She went with the flow, and usually I was flowin' like like one of those wave pools you see at a water park. You know most of the waves are being pushed to the other end of the pool, but if you are in the deep end they seem to be crashing into each other instead.
She ate well, she started to sleep through the night at 4 weeks old, and she was a very content child. I could put her in her swing and clean or do a load of laundry (this started my journey to mountain making). I would lie her down on the floor and take a shower without worrying if she would get upset. She was always happy. This was the baby that seconds after having the stomach flu, was looking at us smiling. She was that good.
Her one fault though was change. She didn't respond well to us moving out-of-state when she was 4 months of age. She from then on didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 1/2. This was an answer to prayer since I was due with baby number 3 soon after and couldn't deal with waking up with 3 children in one night. (Although, it has happened on numerous occasions.) Her biggest need was me. It turned out that she had major separation anxiety. She wasn't hungry or scared. She needed me. I was "it" in her life.
When we would leave her with a babysitter, she would scream until I would come back. She would do it to her own father too. I worked a few hours a week at a retail store, she would cry the whole time I was gone. The only thing that would make her stop was her favorite Elmo video. My poor husband had watched that 25 minute video about 5 to 6 times in a row to make her happy. He still to this day refuses to stay in the room if it is on for one of little ones.
This kid cracks me up. When she about 2 or 3, I would go through the routine of putting her to bed. She would then, every night start asking, "Mommy, are you leaving?"
"No" I replied as I chuckled. She would ask this every night, as if I leave her when she falls asleep to go bar hopping or out with friends. I hardly ever left her. The only time I was gone at bedtime was when I would go out with my dear husband, and that was only once a month to every other month.
When she was a little bit older she wouldn't scream while I was gone. Part of this is because we had grandma to watch her, and part of this is because she finally understood that I would be back. One night we got home from a date at about 11:30pm. Grandma had put all the kids to bed and was waiting in the rocking chair for us to come home. She went over the night with us, and told how all the kids went down. She mentioned that Princess had a little trouble falling asleep, and kept asking when I would be home. Then my dear mother-in-law said, "I think she is asleep now. I haven't heard her in a while."
Then to my shock, with it being almost 3 hours past her bedtime, I hear, "No, I'm not sleeping! I need a kiss and hug!"
She had waited up for me to get home that night, because she needed me there. Now some parents might say that she needed to be socialized, or she needed to learn that it was ok to be away from me. I am sure that some arguments might sound reasonable on this, but this is a case of a daughter who loves her mommy. I have been given the opportunity to have this little girl look up at me and love me. She has put her full trust in me. Her day is complete because I am there to kiss her good morning and then kiss her good night. I could look at her and say, "Cut the cord kid!" or I could say "I love you too!". With all the unconditional love that this little one gives me, how could I say anything else but I love you!
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