1 Mother 2 Another

My poor Cora has been through a lot in the
past few weeks: she’s spent a lot of time being loosely
babysat by a variety of stuffed animals while Mommy packs or
unpacks, she’s dealt with a two-day loss of her milk supply
while I was sick, moved to strange surroundings, been taken out of
her daily routine, and tried to live with a very bad cold.
It’s enough to make any baby grumpy, and Cora’s not
been her happiest (I try not to take it personally). I knew her
renewed clinginess would pass, and that her droopiness and
moodiness would eventually lift and she’d become the
confident, happy baby I once knew.

It’s been tough sticking it out,
though, and she’s tested my patience; after almost a week of
getting up every two hours to nurse again, I sleep-trained her a
couple nights ago, steeling myself to her cries. She still
won’t eat solid foods much and her weight’s still down
a bit, but she seemed to be getting over her cold and frankly I
needed the sleep.


Then yesterday as I was fishing yet another foreign object out of
her mouth, I felt something sharp under my finger. I tried to sweep
it off her gums but it stayed put. Could it be? Yes!


Cora’s got her first tooth!


I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised; she’s over eight
months old. But Maddie didn’t pop a tooth until she was
almost 15 months old, so I’ve had it in the back of my mind
that this was still several months off. Sure enough, though,
Cora’s got her own timetable, and that’s definitely a
little biter on that bottom gum. And all day today Cora was
happier, less complaining, and more ready to be held by others.


Extra order of Mommy guilt, hold the excuses, please.