Ask 95% of people who have met Cecelia and they will tell you about the calmest, mellowest, sweetest baby they've ever met. That select few in the minority may tell of a slightly different story. For example, anyone who's had the pleasure to babysit her while I'm at diving practice, rode in the car with her, spent time with us at the beach, x-rayed her leg on Friday, or was in the LLLI conference this past weekend will tell you of a baby who's happy most of the time (and that certainly counts for something, don't get me wrong) but has an intense cry when it rears its ugly head. Jeff's grandmother said it best when she said, when Cecelia cries she doesn't sound sad, she sounds mad. Early on, some people remarked that she had a temper. I decided that this would be a self-fulfilling prophecy and that no one should tell her of these moments when she was older. I decided "spirited" and "full of personality" were better descriptors. Now I know it just is a part of her personality and I love my feisty little girl. She knows what she wants (or doesn't it sometimes seems) and she's going to get it. It's funny too to think of what she wants - what does she want? Early on, any inexplicable crying was blamed on gas. Now that she's a little older any inexplicable crying gets blamed on teething. And we still don't know that that's really to blame - just seems like a likely culprit. I've referred to Cecelia's car cry before and early days she would get herself worked up into such a frenzy that her eyes looked a little posessed, like she was looking past you and couldn't see you and her face turned four shades of red and her mouth was as wide as could be - scary! The good thing about screaming is that it's the only time we can really see those gums to check for budding teeth. So, there are a few things that work for us to calm the rage. One is called the elevator and a lactation consultant at a La Leche League meeting taught this to me when I was at the end of my rope. I fed her, crying, burped her, crying, still crying, and I said - what now? She showed me this move and it's been our go-to move much to the chagrin of some with aching thighs. You hold the baby facing out in a pretzel legged position with her butt sagging down, squat, then go up and pat her butt twice. It was amazing, like flipping an off switch on the crying. And it's quite a work out. The sling will often calm her and the newest in our bag of tricks - running water. Not the Frank Lloyd Wright House. Turn on the water and she stops and stares. Turn it off and she cries. So, she's not quite the conservationist that her mom is, but it works for now. As I stated initially, only a select few people have ever seen this side of my daughter and I'd prefer that everyone think that she's angelic all the time, so...she is...all the time. Except for when she's intense. Which she is. Sometimes.
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