It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and I just felt bare bottom under Tess’ dress during a feeding! I consider myself lucky: Dave got peed on the other day when her diaper came undone altogether. I don’t know if we happened to buy a dud box of diapers or if superwoman on my lap is bursting them open with her calisthenics, but I assure you – naked bottom in your hand in the middle of the night will wake you right up!

Tess loves to pretend she’s a ferocious eater for about 3 minutes at each feeding, getting her parents’ hopes up for a massive caloric intake. The she tries ( often with terrifying accuracy) to kick herself off of our laps, pushing against our tummies. She’s getting a little long for lap feeding, but it does reduce the puke-capades, so I always keep a hand free for the Sailing Baby lockdown maneuver. The farthest she’s gotten is her head past my knees, and I intend to keep it that way!

We burp her a lot during meals, and towards the end – almost without exception – she ends up enjoying the burping procedure so much she goes to sleep on us. In the middle of the night, I strongly approve of this behavior. I’m greatly looking forward to when we skip this meal! Still, there’s something beautiful about a warm, fed, sleeping baby in your arms in the wee hours. Dave thinks I’m totally nuts, but I’m not tired of this sensation at all – even if I’m always tired. 🙂

Tess is a sucker for a good swaddle; it calms her down immediately and often sends her off to dreamland. Still, when she wakes up she wants it off! We usually hear grunting for a while from her room, and when she cries for food, she’s usually wearing the swaddle blanket like a messy donut around her middle, with her arms and legs flailing in the air. We take it as a challenge: who can get her swaddled so she stays swaddled!

Her newest thing is talking to herself in her crib. I love hearing her little babble sounds mixed in with grunts and hiccoughs. She’s pretty entertaining. 🙂