Tummy Aches...and Smiles

Poor Cayman has not been feeling well. On Wednesday Mike and I left her with Grandma Cindy for most of the day while we went apartment shopping. Cayman did great...much better than Mommy and Daddy. We missed her so much!! When we returned, she was happy, had slept and eaten well the whole day. Then last night around 2 a.m. poor thing fussed off and on til 10 in the morning!! We were suppose to take her to Ann Arbor on Thursday but we canceled her appointments. We figured it was best to just keep her at home. Her head is looking good and has been stable since her last shunt setting adjustment so I felt confident that her checkup could wait until next week. Her other appointment was with Physical Therapy. Her stuffy nose is back and the last time she had that she acted like this. Daddy was up with her from 2 a.m. til 6 a.m. I got up to give Daddy a break.

I had read an article long before I was pregnant that has always stuck with me. It told what to do when your baby is crying and nothing seems to soothe them. It said: Often a baby's cry makes a person nervous. One needs to understand that a cry is the only way a baby can communicate their discomfort. We would verbalize it to each other and even show crabbiness ourselves in our tone and words when we do not feel well. Focus on listening to your baby talk about their discomfort to you instead of trying to get them to stop crying. Do this by snuggling them, even looking into their eyes, and with a soft understanding voice reaffirm their feelings, "I know it hurts, honey. Tell Mama all about it."

I sat in the chair to rock and snuggle Cayman. While I talked to Cayman she would smile in between her cries. She's such an amazing little baby!! Here she is not feeling well, and yet she is still so happy. I'm so proud of my little girl and who she has shown herself to be.