SLOW

I am worried that Felicity isn't developing on track.  It's so dumb, probably.  But she is 7.5 months old and while she can stay in a seated position if I put her there, for quite a while, she eventually topples over and she never, EVER pushes herself up to sitting.  My friend Sarah's daughter has been sitting up for a LOT longer than Felicity and now she is pushing herself up to sitting, at six months and some days.

Today I took the girls to my friend Marta's house for her daughter's birthday party.  Last year at the party I was pregnant and so was Marta's friend Simona.  Simona had a son, Davide, like three weeks before I had Felicity and he was at the party today and - not to put too fine a point on it, but he could kick Felicity's ASS if they got into a fight.  He was crawling and *standing up* and sort of thinking about taking steps, you could tell.  Ay yi yi - Felicity barely puts weight on her legs in the comfort of my lap!

I know it's not too late for her.  Ha, I know that sounds dramatic.  I mean, I know that she is on the later end but it's not unheard of, especially for a baby who had kind of a rough first six months, to be a little behind.  Her pediatrician said she was fine, but of course he said Anthony was fine too and of course Anthony is FINE, but you know what I mean.

I may make this trouble for myself, but it is exhausting, trying to worry enough to be on top of things but not worry so much that you're not ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT AND DELIGHTING IN YOUR CHILDREN.

Teething

Poor Felicity.  She has two big giant Veronica-sized teeth coming in and she's miserable about it.  In the morning, she wakes up so happy and sweet and then one hour later, she is vile and horrible.  She pulls my hair and shrieks in my ear and will not lie down and take a bottle.  I have to stand up and rock her in exactly the right way in order for her to calm down.  Two mornings in a row I've given her Tylenol, which I hate to do when she doesn't have a fever, but she is HOOKED and she wants it so I just give it up and then finally, she sleeps.  She's so great the other times of the day but when she is tired it's awful, just awful.  It makes me doubt all my beliefs.

I was reading this HORRIBLE blog post the other day.  It was allegedly a NICE post, but it was HORRIBLE, which is the worst kind, because it makes you seem like a jerk for recognizing that it's horrible.  It was all about the author BEGGING you to DELIGHT IN YOUR CHILDREN.  I mean, seriously, she was BEGGING us, for the LOVE of ALL that is HOLY, DELIGHT IN YOUR CHILDREN EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY.

That makes me feel awful.  I mean, I am in love with all of these people, and I especially love Felicity right now, she is the littlest and she's been sick and I feel like we have really come through something together.  I am grateful that she is here and that she is better now and - well, I mean, I LOVE HER.  I DO delight in her sometimes!  Most of the time, I daresay.  But it pisses me off to have some youngster who has no other credentials than that she has kids and a computer tell me that I am not DELIGHTING enough in my children.  That I am MISSING out on their childhoods!  Ay yi yi!  How could I be missing out on it, when I'm right here bitching about it?  Ha!

Anyways.  That's what's making me mad this week.  That and the teething.  But the teething will pass, I find it gets easier on them with each tooth, so it won't be long.  Those jerkstore bloggers will be around forever.

Saturday

I'm in my room, stealthily typing away while Felicity naps.  Lately what I do is, try to give her a bottle and she bats at me in the face and kicks me in the stomach while she takes it.  Then she finishes and indicates that by thrashing around and trying to sit up.  So I am pretty sick of her and I take her upstairs and try to rock her until she pushes out of my arms and then I lay her down in the crib and say "good luck!" and I leave.  She cries but not for long and I don't feel too bad because my face is stills smarting from where she pinched me and smacked me.  It's a win win!

She is really getting better about going to sleep on her own.  Any day now I'm going to start putting her in her crib.  My friend Rose gave me her bassinet and I am going to give it back to her just in time for her garage sale, ha!

She will be seven months old on the tenth, she is doing just fine, I'd say.  She's sitting up some, eating some puffs and some apples and some banana and some applesauce and pureed fruit from the spoon.  She's mostly sleeping all night, but she goes to bed later than I'd like.  I think it's impossible to change, though, as she has a rough nap schedule.  She is happy and sweet and she goes back for her one month checkup on the 15th of May and as long as things stay the same, it will be her first month without an ear infection, ever.  So that's pretty big, right?  I am actually getting a little teary typing that.  This poor little baby, she's been through it already.  I hope her second six months are nice and easy.