Ode to Peanut

She's been here three and a half months now and I haven't had much of a chance to introduce her to you, so I thought I'd devote a little time to talking about our sweet Peanut, or, as she's more commonly known these days, Bubbles.  The name seems right for her because she is so bubbly and happy and peaceful, just floating along on the winds of our family life.  Everyone tells you that you will be surprised by the difference in personality between your children, right from the start.  Nonetheless, I am surprised!  I'm marvelling! Peanut is an amazing little sweetie, and I'm so grateful for who she is.

Of course, we all think our babies are the cutest, so I won't go on and on about that.  Just look at her. 

She's cute, alright.  But she's also very easy to talk to.  I mentioned before how I feel like she's just bursting to say something to me, and I just keep feeling that way.  Now that she's cooing and squeaking more, it's even more apparent that she has something on her mind.  When she's alert, we can sit and talk back and forth to each other for as long as I can hold a conversation.  I speak, she coos back, I speak, she coos back.  And always with that big smile on her face.  The first thing she does when she sees me after being asleep is smile as wide as she can.  She's such a rewarding baby. I feel like she's absolutely overjoyed to be part of our family, and we're so happy to have her too.

Right from her birth, she's made her integration into our family so easy.  With her dad, she hasn't been as easy to settle, but with me, I can think of only a handful of times when it's taken more than ten to fifteen minutes to calm her down if she's upset.  And generally, in the day (as opposed to tired evening), she just doesn't get too upset about anything.  I can take her to a crowded, noisy playgroup and she sits on my lap, watching the action.  Sometimes, she's gotten very worked up when I'm busy with Boodge and her dad is with her, but as soon as I take her into my arms she sputters to a stop and before long, she is usually asleep.  It makes me feel like a superstar.

And lately, she's found her hands, and made the incredible discovery of her thumb.  It may seem like a small thing.  In fact, it is a small thing, literally, but it's made a huge difference.  She is not, like her brother, a baby who nurses to sleep or for comfort.  I think she's just too pukey to find nursing comfortable.  Instead, she likes to go to sleep sucking our finger, and for the first three months it was a bit trying to be holding her with one hand and having the other in her mouth.  Now, she just slips her little pink friend into her mouth whenever she wants and nods off, pretty much wherever she is, when she's ready.  And she doesn't make a big deal about it.  One minute, we can be having some tummy to tummy time, and the next, she puts her head on my shoulder and sucks her thumb and is falling asleep. 


I don't know if I can possibly explain how much her "can-do" attitude towards self-soothing delights me. Boodge was NEVER so easy to get to sleep.  Probably, as first time parents, we fussed over him too much, but I also think he was just different.  We had to bounce him on the exercise ball, or I had to nurse him forever and then sneak away, often to have him wake up crying and needing to start all over again.  And he always cried when he woke up--in fact he still does most times. Transitions are just hard for him, I guess. Not so for Peanut.  Lately, I can take her to her room, nurse her, get her thumb going, and pretty much just leave her there.  When she wakes up in mid-nap, if she's not hungry or wet, she'll just get herself back to sleep, thank you very much. And when her nap is over, she lays there taking in her surroundings, and I'm only alerted when she makes a little happy coo into the monitor.

I remember around the three month point with Boodge feeling like I was finally starting to make sense out of life again.  With the help of Peanut's thumb, I feel like I'm getting to that place again.  I can predict her naps, and I can count on being able to put her down for them.  (Universe, don't play with me. I know it can all change with the next tooth.)  I'm starting to be able to make micro-plans, visualizing how my day may unfold.  It is so liberating to have some structure again. 

So this is my first ode to little Bubbles, the peaceful floating little baby.  She's made things so easy, we could almost forget how good we've got it.  I hope she stays this way, though I'm not naive enough to think that she will.  Of course, she has a right to get worked up and make demands on us, and she does when she needs to.  But she really does seem to feel like things are pretty darn good, and there's no need to fuss.  That is the gift that she has brought us.