Grumpy Grower

I think I have mentioned several times now how amazingly fast kids grow ! I am certain that Elaina's little body is growing by the hour. Tonight, she resisted a second nap at the sitter's house and was cranky-tired by 5:00. She only wanted to eat mandarin oranges and Goldfish crackers for dinner and that was only in between whines and food throwing. It's not her fault that she is so tired, the poor baby is ever-changing. I carried her upstairs and cleaned her up and gave her some Tylenol. I rarely like to medicate her on a whim, but tonight's behavior is completely out of the ordinary. I'm sure that her growing molars are painful and she is just uncomforatable and exhausted. I rocked her for a few minutes to sooth her before I lay her in her crib. Once down, she screamed like no other. Oh My !! My heart was breaking, she never does this. I kept telling myself that I did what I needed to do and I had to let her be. Also, because this happened in the middle of dinner, I didn't want her to think that this behavior will release her from the table and demand attention. Once downstairs, I counted the minutes on the clock as Elaina sobbed overhead. It was painful to hear her cry. I set a limit when I was going to give in and console her. I would wait out a full 10 minutes. Time seemed to take forever as we stared at the minute hand. Three long minutes later and not a peep. That's all it took. Whew... 3 minutes can be an eternity!

An hour later, sleeping beauty was revived, refreshed and recharged. My girlfriends came down with their babies and we took out the jogging-stroller brigade to walk a few laps around town. As my friends and I chatted along, Elaina laughed along as if she was part of the conversation and she was the one making the jokes. She was cracking herself up ! What was even more funny is that she would begin to laugh at our stories about 30 seconds after we stopped laughing. She kinda reminded me of watching a film with a delayed soundtrack ! What a little silly ... this is the girl I know and love !