It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

In my last post I mentioned that most days are flying by. This is certainly true of the weekends when we are all together. Other than looking forward to church on Sunday’s, I am starting to dread that day because it means Mark has to go back to work on Monday. I wish we could press the pause button and let time stand still...except when baby Bekah is crying of course. And yes, baby Bekah has found her voice!

Rebekah turned 8 weeks old last Monday (3/16). There were many “firsts” on that day. The best was her first “official” smile. The worst was her first bout of colic. Quoting Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

It was the best of times: FIRST “OFFICIAL” SMILE - Rebekah was being a bit fussy on Monday so I spent a lot of time holding her and comforting her. I was playing phone tag with a potential new client and obviously could not answer the phone when Rebekah was being fussy. At one point Rebekah actually fell asleep so I laid her on a sleeping pad right next to me in my office. Then the phone rang. It was the potential new client. I looked at Rebekah and she looked so content in her deep sleep so I dared to answer the phone. Within 30 seconds Rebekah was awake and starting to fuss. I knew it would be safe to put her in her crib and walk away so that is what I did. Within a few minutes I was able to finish my phone call and then go back to Rebekah.

They say babies have different cries for different needs. Rebekah has a distinct cry when she is angry...for times when we are taking too long getting her bottle and such. When I returned to her after my phone call she was letting me have it with her angry cry. For some reason I felt I had to explain to her why I had to put her in her crib and walk away. (Yes, I was explaining myself to an 8-week old baby!) I leaned over the crib and looked her right in the eye and said, “Rebekah, I put you in your crib because you were starting to fuss while I was on an important phone call.” Just my talking to her got her attention and she stopped crying. She was looking at me very intently as if she understood what I was saying so I continued with my explanation. “When mommy is on a phone call she needs you to be quiet”, I continued. I can’t even remember my next sentence because it was in the middle of that sentence that Rebekah broke out this HUGE smile. Technically Rebekah has smiled in the past but those smiles were more involuntary...some say those “smiles” are due to gas. But this time it was such an obvious smile that I just laughed and laughed. This particular smile will be noted as her “official” first smile. Again, I wish my eyes could be a camera...BLINK-CLICK!

It was the worst of times: FIRST BOUT OF COLIC – Rebekah has been an incredibly content baby. Monday was a different story however. She began fussing around 1PM. From 1PM until 6PM I tried bouncing her, burping her, rocking her, etc. Mark took over at 6PM and tried much of the same. By 10:30PM we both felt defeated. Mark pulled out the Dr. Spock book and began to read about colic. The explanation seemed to fit perfectly for what was happening. Knowing that it was “just” colic and nothing we were doing wrong really helped. Since that first bout of colic we’re trying different things including keeping our sense of humor. I figured that this stage will pass so I should document it for memories sake. So here is Rebekah first at peace, then winding up, and finally....having a colic moment!