Granddad's influence

During Ena's recent visit to her Nanny and Granddad's she learned a couple of new things. She learned, for example, the very useful skill of waving hello. We were in the airport the first time she waved to someone. A woman on our plane came over to say hi to Ena and fuss over her. And surprise! Ena waved hello. She also learned a less useful but more amusing action from her Granddad - how to press your face against a glass window.

Granddad took us to the airport terminal. As we waited in the security area before boarding our flight he made a bunch of funny faces for Ena, including pressing his face up against the glass wall dividing us from him. A week later when I was at home with Ena I took her over to our patio door to look outside. I happened to be holding her in front of me at the time. She immediately pressed her face against the window - just like Granddad.

Posing

Loving Ena

About two weeks ago Ena took her first big trip. We went to visit her Nanny, Granddad and Great Granddad. Of all the things I imagined being difficult while we were away - a disruption in the schedule, sleeping challenges and the like - I never guessed that being around new people would be one of them. Ena has begun to 'make strange' around everyone but E and I. She cries when other people hold her, and she was quite fussy for poor Nanny and Granddad.

This change in her behaviour has had me thinking. They say that by around 8 months babies start to really recognize their parents and respond by crying or fussing when they are around strangers. When we visited her grandparents I had a little time away from Ena - the most time away I have ever taken - and I realized that I am also making strange, in my own way. I don't cry when I leave the house, but I do feel a real absence and even a longing when she is away from me. It's just this feeling that something is not right. Something important is missing.

Today I was looking at her as she slept in her swing (still not napping in her crib!) and I was struck by the depth of my love for her. When she was born, I immediately loved her. I felt that she was fragile, vulnerable, that I needed to protect her. She was so tiny. So lovely. She immediately had my heart. Over the months since she was born that love has changed. I am more experienced. She doesn't seem nearly so delicate. And, more importantly, she has really begun to express her personality. When I looked at her today, I felt as though I knew her and loved her for who she is. What a lovely feeling.

New things

It has been almost a month since I updated the blog. We've been busy with work on the house and traveling during spring break. Ena is as lovely as ever. She isn't sleeping much - short naps during the day and a lot of waking up at night - but she delights us every day. She can wave hello now. She turns off light switches. She can't yet crawl but she is very close and is certainly a lot more mobile.

She took her first trip to visit Nanny, Granddad and Great Granddad last week. She did surprisingly well. The traveling was fine - she slept during much of it. She did fairly well sleeping at night, too. But she was fussier than usual during the day and she also started to 'make strange' with everyone but us. She eventually warmed up to Nanny and Granddad again but initially she cried when they took her in their arms. Nanny and Granddad were very good with her though. They both managed to get her to fall asleep in their arms - something E and I are never able to do.

She still has very little hair. It seems to be thickening but she continues to look like a little bald Gerber baby. Her eyes have begun to change colour. They seem like they might turn green but we will have to wait and see. She loves bananas. She likes to bite and we have begun a 'no biting' policy which she seems to be responding to.

A Surprising Thing About Food

E and I both love food. We spend a good portion of our money and a great deal of our time on good food. We are always looking for new recipes and new flavours to try. When Ena turned 6 months old and began eating solid foods I thought it would be easy to feed her in this way. I knew it would be messy. I knew there would be foods she wouldn't like. But because I had expected those things I prepared for them. What I hadn't anticipated was how much I would want to give her food that I enjoyed. That I would want to offer her salty foods, spicy foods, sweet foods. Every time I eat something I enjoy I want to offer her some, too. I find it surprisingly difficult to remember that these foods are not good for her. That really, a few bland vegetables and fruit are the best for now. I also find it hard to only introduce one food at a time. Sometimes we make food that would be good for her to eat, full of vegetables and lentils, but nearly all of our food has more than one ingredient. I find myself looking for bland foods that we will enjoy but can also share with Ena. There are not many.

I fear that I am going to be just the kind of parent I thought critically of before I had a child. The parent who indulges the child. Over-protects them. Shelters them too much. Hinders their independence by always doing for the child. Ugh. All things in life are so complicated. Will anything ever feel easy again?

That tongue thing

Along with the cold, Ena has developed a new tongue position. She likes to hold the tip of her tongue on her upper lip. We've been speculating that it's because she can taste her snot that way. What do you think?

Ena has a cold

The past seven days have held a number of firsts for Ena. Her first apples. Her first broccoli (which she did not like - we will keep trying). Her first unassisted sitting. Her first roll from back to tummy. And, her first cold. E and I both got sick after he went to Kitimat for the drama zones. Gone for four days, none of us got much sleep. E was busy monitoring his students, trying to make sure that they didn't do any of the stupid things we all do when we are teenagers. I was busy trying to get Ena to sleep. She was busy trying to keep from sleeping. We were all so run down it was really just a matter of time before we became ill.
Ena has been the last of our lot to get the cold. E and I are almost runny nose free but Ena is still suffering. This past weekend she had a couple of terrible nights, whimpering and waking regularly. We finally decided to give her some children's tylenol and it did seem to help. Because she can't breathe through her nose properly she has been drooling like crazy. We have to keep putting fresh bibs on her to keep her dry. She's also been a bit grumpy and who can blame her? I hope that she gets over it soon. For all our sakes.