Out of the fog...

...and into the mire! 

My friend Gabrielle commented that I should “be out of the fog” when we were discussing Mietta being 4 months old (she turns 5 months old today). This was such an apt description to try and explain the whole upsidedowness that a newborn throws ones life into. It is very easy to forget how perplexing a new life is, and how long it takes to begin to understand one another. It can be both pure hell and pure joy jumbled with abundant dirty nappies, a zillion small baby items needing washing, frayed nerves, unmet demands, a catastrophically messy house... made all the more bearable with the gorgeous baby smile and the time warp that ensues whilst one is absorbed in ‘baby gazing’. Do I want another baby? Of course! (Note: this euphoria will subside / vanish once Mietta begins to sleep through the night! I know this from past experience.) 

After putting so much effort into getting the boys into a feeding / sleeping schedule, I purposefully began with ‘demand feeding’ for Mietta. This was mainly due to our impending visit to Australia and the accompanying plane trips, altered time zones and the general craziness of travel. We returned to Chicago during mid January and I was eager to start Mietta on some sort of schedule to provide us with a certain level of certainty (and the ability to leave Mietta with a sitter!) Mietta, on the other hand, seems to have her own ideas and loves staying up late with Paul and myself - appearing to just want to hang out. The reason for a recent unsettled period became obvious when a tooth appeared in Mietta’s bottom gum at the beginning of February! 

Mietta is a very engaging and happy baby. She loves attention and is ready with a smile for complete strangers. My friend Polly describes her as “high on life”. Mietta is an absolute delight and we are so happy we have her in our life. Nic cannot go through a day without checking on Mietta constantly. He makes her laugh but can also make her cry when his attention gets a little overbearing. Mietta has the entire household wrapped around her little, teeny, cute finger. 

Nic comes out with some strange things at times. We were walking along the street last week. Nic was scrunching all the snow he could reach while I was trying to keep him motivated to continue in a straight line. He came out with “I want to go to China Mum.” “Why do you want to go to China Nic?” with the patently obvious answer “Because it is windy”.  His requests for sustenance are direct. “I want a sandwich Mum” Great, I was thinking, what a great food choice “OK. What sort of sandwich would you like?” He replied with a broad grin “An icecream sandwich. He he he!” And then: “I want a coffee Mum.” Incredulously I ask “You want a coffee?!?” “Yes.” Nic replies “I am a man and I only drink coffee”. 

Photo: Mietta and I take a self portrait