Harriet at Fifteen Weeks

"Look at me jumping!"

This week Harriet discovered the joys of the exersaucer.  She is such a get up and go kind of kid that the ability to stand up, jump, and spin around at will is a very exciting thing indeed.  This also helps Mommy tremendously because it gives her a chance to do things like dishes and laundry while Harriet amuses herself.

The exersaucer does prove to be rather hilarious for onlookers as little Harriet's head just barely reaches above the height of the seat, and sometimes she will disappear altogether as she dives for her taggie blanket or for the Hungry Caterpillar rattle and what not.  As the excitement of bouncing around reaches a fever pitch of shrieks and squeals, Harriet meets her expiration date and has to be picked up and snuggled for a while.  But hey, fifteen minutes in the exersaucer is fifteen minutes, right?

I will confess that this past week has been one of the most challenging parenting weeks thus far.  (The exception, of course, being the first few days after her birth in which I was feeling less than stellar.  Why is that?  Why do moms have to go through all the effort of childbirth, be miserable with the beginnings of breastfeeding, and still have to keep a child alive with little to no sleep?  In looking back I think, "What the heck?  That was the freakiest few days of an adrenaline rush that I've ever experienced."  Maybe it's because women traditionally didn't engage in warfare and had to have some sort of super-endurance experience every few years in order to chalk one up to their menfolk.  In any case, this is how God designed it to be...or at least how it works post-Fall.  But I digress quite shamefully.)

I confess that this has been a challenging parenting week because HarriEd's sleep patterns are whacko.  She sleeps so lightly that any movement whatsoever from me causes her to wake up entirely.  Staying up into the wee sma's was cute back in college, but now it really is the pits.  Because intense details of what I have done and haven't done to improve the sleeping of the Wonder Child are really unnecessary for this space, I won't divulge.  However, prayers for wisdom, patience, and a few solid winks here and there are appreciated.  Last night was a lot better, and that's because she was really pooped out and really full when she finally went to sleep.  Hopefully tonight will afford the same happy results.

My dear mother has always said that people don't grow up until they have kids.  I thought smugly, "Oh, yes, that's true.  But since I've had so many younger siblings, I don't need to worry about that so much." Boy, was I wrong.  The inability to do what I want when I want to do it is horribly frustrating at times and it really crushes my gotta-keep-everything-splendid ego.  I think that God has graciously given me a clingy little girl who craves physical affection and full-fledged attention in order to give my progressive sanctification a hearty boost.  Being Harriet's mommy in the way that Harriet needs me is way more important than being Super Crafter or Super Chef or Super Suzy Homemaker.  

And that's just that.