Today was not an easy day. I ended up staying home to babysit the fire alarm people after it got hosed last night. Working from home ended up being little more than reading e-mail, for the most part, because of the suboptimal conditions.
What I really have a new appreciation for is what it's like for Diana when Simon has a particularly hard day. This was the worst I've seen him probably since his first month. He has this awful whine that just doesn't stop, and the day was filled with tears and a lack of sleep. He didn't eat either. As you can imagine, a sleep deprived and hungry kid is not fun to be around. I tried to help, but it's hard to figure out what his issues are lately.
Over the course of the last nine months since the end of my leave, Diana has called or sent a text asking for backup toward the end of the work day, and he pretty much ends up chilling out by the time I get home. This really is the first time I've seen him like that, and I can't say enough how much credit she deserves for her patience and mom skills.
He had a pretty nice wind-down this evening, with one mini-meltdown after he went to bed, but he seemed to be in a better mood. He shows some signals that his teeth are bothering him again, with the drooling, hand in the mouth and ear grabbing, but it's not consistent. That he won't really touch solid, non-mush food is probably the better indicator. I keep wondering when it will end! I though the early teething would be awesome, because it would be over faster, but it seems more like higher intensity over a shorter duration, so it might be worse for him.
On the positive side, he's doing a great job lately rolling, and pushing himself up pretty high off of his arms. He's also standing up against the couch and his electronic activity table thing with higher duration and stability than even a week ago. He's also making more sounds more often, and I think he's doing the sign for "ball" on purpose now. It's pretty exciting to watch.
Parenthood is generally a lot of fun, but days like this really push you. I swear and complain away from him, but I'm still staying positive in front of him, for the most part. It's not easy. Crossing our fingers for good oral health and smiles on vacation next week!
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