Natalia

There is nothing sadder than a sick baby, and for the past week Natalia has been miserable.  We think it is mostly teething and teething side effects, but the poor kid has had an upset stomach and an ouchy mouth, and a fever and has just not felt good.  And the saddest part is we can tell she's been trying to be herself.  Her regular, super crazy, super curious, super energetic self.

Sometimes I wonder where Natalia came from.  I look like both of my parents and have traits of each of their personalities.  My other kids are all hodgepodges either looking or acting at least a little like me.  But Natalia is one of her own.  She looks like Ree and Michael, so I suppose she looks like Jeff.  Except she has blue eyes, and they are not my blue eyes.  But the craziest thing is her personality.  She is not even remotely like me or Jeff.

Natalia is loud.  Much louder than her brothers.  She loves banging toys on the table and splashing on the bathtub.  And she is not afraid to ask for what she wants.  She cries when she is "abandoned" and finds herself alone in a room, which I suppose must feel pretty odd when you live with five other people and two dogs.  But it's hard not to laugh at her antics.  She will be screaming bloody murder and have tears dripping down her face.  The instant you pick her up, though, it stops.  Immediately.  And she resumes her smiling and noise making.

Natalia is physical.  Weeks ago she discovered that she could get anywhere she needed to go by rolling, and she's good at it too.  The weekend after she realized she could roll with purpose I saw her spot a toy across the room.  She looked at it, looked down where she was, looked back at it, and then she tucked in her arms and rolled to it in a single movement, finishing by scooping it up and plopping it in her mouth.

Natalia knows how to take care of herself, too.  My parents just left after a long visit, and at one point my dad asked if we were giving solids to Natalia yet.  If not horrified, he was at least taken aback as I admitted, "I've been meaning to give her solids, I just keep forgetting to buy them."  But it's true.  And it's not like I need anything fancy.  We had already decided not to mess around with spooning baby food to Natalia.  We were going to take the self-feeding approach, which is mostly what we did with the boys anyway.  So two weeks ago, Natalia got a bit of banana to eat, and she tried it on a couple of occasions, but she really wasn't that impressed.  During all the teething drama, Jeff plopped her in her high chair one day last week and gave her a tray full of Cheerios.  She went to town, scooping them up and putting them in her mouth, where she gummed them with her two teeth. 

Because she knows what she wants, Natalia can be exhausting.  The sweet little baby who slept through the nights has been gone for the past two months, replaced by a little demon who wants to stay up til the wee hours to hang out with us and then getting up many, many times during the night to check on me.  But again, the stinkpot is so happy if her needs are met.  She and I have spent many, many hours sleeping together on the couch (I know, not safe, but neither is not sleeping), and as soon as we go to our "love nest" she quiets down and passes out.  We've also rearranged the bedroom so she can co-sleep, and even on her most quiet nights, she will pass out quickly once we are nestled in together.

As demanding as she can be, I can't wait until she feels better and is her energetic, happy, order giving self again.