Soggy tags

Sophia's favorite new comfort item:

16"x16" fleece blanket with plenty of tags to suck on.

~Mommy sewed this for me last night.  I tried it out today and I LOVE it~

Mama Bird

Sophia has recovered from the chickenpox.  She had a very mild case of them.  They didn't even scab over or leave marks.  I kept her home from 'trial' daycare yesterday to give her one more day to heal... or was it so I could have her all to myself for one more day?  In any case, today was her first half-day at Montessori.  I dropped her off in the morning with enough food for two feedings and drove to my hair appointment in downtown Seattle.  (I have been getting my hair done at Halo Hair Studio for a couple of years now and figured since I am going back to work, I had better get my emergency-mommy-hair-cut looking  a little more professional.)  

It was a very surreal experience to be without my little tag-a-long for more than an hour.   I thought about her the whole time I was away.  At one point a fire truck went speeding by the salon with it's sirens blaring and for a split second I thought about covering her ears so the sound wouldn't hurt them, but then I remembered she was not within hearing distance.  A little while later I experienced a split second of panic and had to remind myself that I left her with someone who is taking good care of her.  This last thought was exacerbated by the fact that a couple of weeks ago I woke up crying from a nightmare where I had accidently left her at home by herself and I couldn't get back to her.  

I think the separation anxiety is getting to me right now more than it is affecting Sophia.  This morning when I left, I gave her a kiss and told her I would see her later.  She was sitting (yes, she is sitting by herself now) on the play mat on the infant room floor and she had already found a toy to play with.  She hardly gave me a second look.  When I went in to pick her up, she was jumping up and down in the jumper saucer and laughing like I have never seen her laugh before.  She was thoroughly enjoying herself.  

Ana is the head caregiver in the infant room and she told me that she did very well.  She ate a little in the morning and then took a half an hour nap.   A couple of hours later she took a full bottle and then she played in the jumper saucer and that is where she was when I walked in the room.  I scooped my little baby up and gave her a big hug and kiss.  We were both very happy to see each other.  

As I was putting her in the car to take her home, I leaned over to give her another kiss and in that instant I felt what momma birds must feel when they come home to their nest and realize that someone other than themselves had been handling their eggs.  It was disconcerting.  Sophia smelled different.  She no longer had 'our' smell on her.  She had spent time in someone else's arms and their scent had transferred to my little baby.  Luckily in the human world we can get past this and not abandon our young, but it's going to take some time for me to get used to letting someone else spend this precious time with her.  I love my baby bird.  

The view out our window

This was the view out our front window a few weeks ago.  Today, although not as colorful since all of the leaves have fallen, the time Sophie and I spent watching the wildlife out this same window was just as beautiful.  This is my last full week with her all to myself before I go back to work and I revel in each and every minute I get to spend with her.  When she lays down for a nap, I am anxious for her to wake up again so I can spend more time with her.  

She will be 6 months old on Friday and I wonder where the time has gone.  She can sit by herself now and I watch her decide which toy she wants to play with next.  To get anywhere on her own she rolls and inch worms on her back.  I can tell when she has made up her mind to traverse the living room floor to be closer to me.  My heart just melts when she snuggles into my neck and mommy is the only one who can comfort her.  

We sat at this window hanging over the back of the couch for about a half an hour this afternoon.  We saw a woodpecker pecking for bugs in the grass.  We saw two squirrels burying food for the winter and chasing each other around the cul de sac.  We saw crows watching the other animals and scavenging for the food that the others were hiding and finding.  Whenever one of them would move they would catch Sophia's eye.  I would tell her the name of the animal she was looking at and I could see the wheels turning in her head.

I have a new window to this beautiful world and her name is Sophia.