Monday, September 8, 2008

Mommy's Baby

Madelynn has taken on the persona of many of those silly dwarfs. Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, and occasionally Dopey. Lately, the dwarf she most embodies would have to be Bashful. When I'm holding my precious Bashful on my hip, and someone other than her reflection is talking to her, she'll smile and then bury her head in my shoulder. Or, she'll peep around at people from the corner of her eye while her little head hides somewhere in my non-existent cleavage. I have a Mommy's girl.

The past couple times I've been at my parents house with Mady, she'll be happy go lucky, cooing in my Daddy's arm, or smiling while Mum swings with her. But the second she gets tired, she'll scream bloody murder in the face of whomever happens to possess her at that moment. I'll sit back, watching them hand her back and forth, jiggling her on their knees, rocking, swaying, singing, everything and anything they can think of. After the screaming gets obscene, and the looks on my parents faces go from super adoring to super exasperated, I'll finally step in and take the baby. It's like pushing the mute button. The screaming stops, tears cease their flow, her thumb travels to her mouth and her head rests on my chest. She sleeps.

They had babysat for her once a couple weekends ago. I had told my Father that we would be back to pick her up no later than 10. At 9:30, he called me to come get her. When we got there, Mady was coughing, she was screaming so loud. I took her. She stopped and smiled in my Father's face. Poor guy. Apparently she had started at 8 and hadn't stopped the entire time. Poor guy.

When I'm sitting on the end of the couch, minding my own business after a long day of being Mommy, Jeffrey will sit on the glider with Mady on his lap. Screaming. So he'll walk the hallways, the crying will stop, and I'll see this pathetic look of satisfaction on his face. I know as soon as he sits back down, that baby will be screaming her head off. He looks so pleased with himself though, I just don't have the heart to tell him. He sits. She screams. I take the baby, sit down on the glider, and channel surf while she cuddles for a moment before falling asleep.

I feel like the most powerful person in the world.

But what will happen when I can't be with her? How many times will my parents babysit a constantly screaming child before they decide they've heard enough and "just can't do it this weekend, sorry Aimee but your kid is fucking annoying".

Eh, I don't care right now. I'm on top of the world this week, knowing my baby loves me as much as I love her. Maybe next week I'll bitch about her attachment. Maybe her seperation anxiety will annoy the hell out of me too. In this moment, I honestly doubt it, the feeling is just too wonderful. But we shall see.

I guess I'll just have to be attached to her hip until this phase passes. I'm OK with that.

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