| | One unexpected benefit of having kids was that D and I each got our own mascot. Babygirl has always taken after D: chub of cheek, unsurpassed in gas production, stubborn as all get-out. Doodlebug, on the other hand, reflects my shyness around strangers, pointy chin, and worshipful attitude toward older sister figures. What is most marked is her complete disregard for others when she sleeps. Doodlebug and I share a queen-sized bed (D has been relegated to the spare room), and morning always finds her smack dab in the middle of the bed, with me either curled around her like a question mark or teetering off the edge of the bed. Several times a night, I pick her up and move her over a few feet, but it's a futile gesture--within 20 minutes I have a little bundle of blankets snuggling against my arm.
I know she's ready to get up for the day because she'll shimmy over to me and punch me in the boob until I wake up. She just stares at me with these huge liquid brown eyes and paws at me, waiting for me to open my eyes. It's like sleeping next to a baby deer with no manners. But I can't get too mad--when I finally wake up, she breaks out into this huge smile and rejoices by kicking her fat little feet.
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This is where Doodlebug really diverges from her older sister--Babygirl was fond of D and me equally, which is to say: meh. Babygirl liked us well enough, but it wasn't until later that she would keen and arch if she were placed in a stranger's hands, and that phase only lasted about two weeks. Doodlebug, on the other hand, has eyes (and clingy arms and legs) for only one person. Can you guess? Shall I show you my massive forearm, sinewed and striated by holding my Doodlebug all day long? She will tolerate her father for short bursts of time, but the instant she hears or sees me, she starts to wail and looks at me in supplication until I pick her up. I'm touched. I'm tired.
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Doodlebug's little teeth buds finally cut through a few days ago. It looks like someone crushed a pearl and strewed the crumbs on her gum. Unlike last time, I did not discover the teeth buds by hearing them scrape against the spoon as I was feeding. Not that my dental attentiveness has improved, it's that Doodlebug hates solid food. Babygirl gobbled it up from the first, but Doodlebug spits it out automatically, like a vending machine rejecting a wrinkly dollar bill.
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| | Posted 5/27/2009 11:36 PM - 9 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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