No, this is not a story about sticking my head in the sand until all the badness has past, it is, in fact, quite the opposite. While attending our first Babygym class (http://www.babygym.co.za/), we were told the story of a new ostrich farmer. He felt sorry for the unhatched baby ostriches who were trying to get out of their shells, so he 'helped' them by cracking each egg so that when the chick was ready, it could break out of the egg a lot easier. Unfortunately, to his horror, when the chicks did hatch, they all had floppy necks and couldn't hold their own heads. Distraught, he contacted an ostrich farmer with years of experience to help him solve this mystery. He told the other farmer how he had cracked the eggs to help the chicks as he didn't want them to suffer unnessecarliy. The older, more experienced, farmer explained to him that it is in tapping the eggs from the inside until they can break free, that builds their neck muscles, allowing them to hold their own heads when they hatch. The moral of the story, although nature/the universe/God can seem to put undue (and overwhelming) stress on our babies, they need to learn persist, and in so doing will be strong enough to survive in the (sometimes bad and scary) outside world.
I thought this story was a bit more meaningful than 'what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger' because I really don't want to think in those terms when it comes to Emily. While I struggle to stop feeling sorry for myself because of my lack of sleep and energy, I have to remind myself that my daughter is not 'being difficult'. That, when a baby of her age cries and won't let you put them down, it is because they need you to comfort and soothe them. Being needed on such a fundamental level is breath taking. And when I hold her and she does (eventually) stop crying, the peace and tranquility with which she sleeps is something I only can only hope she will know throughout her life.
Health update wise, her lip continues to heal beautifully! Her right ear is still infected and she is on another round of both ear drops and antibiotics, so lets hope it can finally clear it up.
She went for her weigh in this week, and she is now 4,55kg and 56,4cm tall. I am very grateful for my petite baby, as I have aggrevated the hernia I picked up during pregnancy and can hardly carry her at this small weight. But, this will be sorted out, and then I won't put her down until she needs to go to school! Likely! I can't wait to see her sit and crawl and eventually walk and run. I never thought I would feel this way as I always loved babies and not toddlers, but the thought of my daughter reaching her developmental milestones and experiences excites me no end, and I can't wait to go through them with her.
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