Friends or Enemies?

Java is the only cat that will come anywhere near Cecilia. He usually lays down next to her when I am also next to her. I think he is trying to get attention anywhere he can lately, even if that means letting Cecilia maul him. She especially likes to put his tail in her mouth. I have a feeling when she starts crawling things will get much worse for Java. I'm sure the moment in time will come where Java will lose his patience. I'm not looking forward to that day.

I want to thank Katie and Terry and April and Cori again for all the advice. I think I expected some of you to answer some of the questions, not every single question. I feel like you all gave me a big hug. Things are definitely still trying. I have tried the frozen banana, it worked so-so. I can't seem to find Zwiebach or individually wrapped Gerber teething biscuits. I forgot to buy oragel. I like the Jack Daniels idea, but I'm not sure John wants to share. I also tried freezing a washcloth. I remember Heather giving Jack a celery stalk to teeth on. Maybe I'll try that. I pinched her back a day or two ago, and used a "mom" tone with her, and that seems to have worked. Now she grabs my skin, but I use the tone and tell her not to pinch mommy, and so far she hasn't actually pinched me again.

One for me.

She is still fussier than normal, and she still clings to me like saran wrap. I know the time will come when she hates me, and so I try to remind myself of that. I didn't come equipped with a whole lot of patience, so the clingy thing is going to take some extra deep breaths. I also remember what it feels like to be lonely and miss my mom, so that helps me be more empathetic.

I have also started feeding her more, which I think might be helping a tiny bit with longer naps, and entertaining herself. I also tried the wait before you get her advice after taking naps. Twice she played in her crib for 10 minutes and fell asleep for another 10 minutes, so that was an extra 20 minutes for me, and a little bit more rest for her. Woo Hoo! I will have to say I misspoke about the length of time she plays by herself. It's not 40 minutes, it's more like 15. It must have just seemed like 40 because 15 is better than none at all. She is very very close to crawling, she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks, or she does this inch worm thing where she reaches as far as she can with her arms, and then bends in half, and moves her legs up. It's cute. This has helped with the self entertainment, she is constantly rolling, and inching, and doing this inch-worm-army-crawl thing all over the floor. I have started weening her which is a whole nother post in itself, but I think I didn't have as much milk as I thought I did, therefore she was more fussy and slept less. So, now I offer her formula after almost every meal, and she usually drinks at least 4 ounces.

Stay tuned for cute baby sleeping pictures, more flailing when the next tooth comes, and I'm sure there will be a video of her crawling any day now.