Wrecked

Do you ever have one of those days where your baby just wears you out and you feel like you could sleep for a week? Gillian has been having one of those days every day for over two weeks. Remember her fever? Seems that it was related to teething. And here we are. Still teething. And she is wearing us out. We are tired.

See, when Gillian is teething, she follows you around the house and whines, pitifully clutching your legs because she wants to be with you. Every single second. Maybe not EVERY single second, but almost. She is miserable. Even with enough Baby Orajel, Tylenol, and Motrin to kill a small horse. She is pulling at her ears, as she has been for the past few weeks...and it's not an ear infection, per the doctor. I don't see any teeth via my very brief glimpses as I try to peek when making her laugh (since there is obviously no worse torture than trying to take a look at her gums). So, I am wondering how much longer is this going to last? And, more importantly, will we survive till then? Gillian's alter ego is alive and well, and my glimpses of my happy, sweet, laid-back baby girl are few and far between these days. Last night's Friday night dinner date hearkened back to another hellish teething moment, and was traumatic enough for us that I can honestly say we won't be going out to dinner again until these teeth come through (I say TEETH instead of TOOTH because it just can't be possible that all this is the result of the movement of just one tooth). Then there's the face grabbing/pinching/poking and the "tear everything off every shelf" that is both uncomfortable (for us) and a recipe for the house to be a disaster area every day.

For now, we look forward to nap time. When we get a break-a couple of luxurious hours of the baby's sleep-it gives us time enough to recharge our batteries so we can make it through the rest of the day. But lately-one short nap instead of two long ones. So, no break. Then....ah, then, there's dinner (an on-going struggle). Here's an example of what dinner is like:


She is not interested in food. Again. Plenty of it ends up on the floor. Food is definitely more fun to play with. The latest trick is scraping it into her lap, ensuring at least most of it goes a) on her clothing, b) on the floor, or c) both a. and b. Exhausting. And messy.

This is not to say there aren't plenty of great things going on, but I am actually pretty grouchy after a rough day. Since I have been preoccupied by more than I want to discuss right now, I haven't been managing my videos properly. So, for Nonni and Grandaddy, here are a few keepers to tide you over till next weekend:

1) Gillian is pulling up and actively using the walker she got for her birthday:


2) Gillian is cruising fairly efficiently:


3) She is (and I finally videotaped it) still into brushing her teeth (of course, we are not allowed near her mouth, so it's all her):


4) And she is doing some imaginative play with giving her bath toys a ride in a plastic intertube, complete with a simulated motor sound:


There is more (learning body parts and stacking blocks, for example), but *yawn*...I am only imagining that next weekend on the plane will be one of the more unpleasant experiences of my life (and everyone elses on the plane, unbeknownst to them). Because of my brother's condition, I changed my ticket and will be leaving a few days before Sean and taking G. So, Good Luck to me. Are there such things as mommy vacations?

*sigh* and *sigh*