Tess threw up this morning. She ate a ton, she’s on an antibiotic that upsets her stomach, and as Brittney was tucking her in for her morning nap, she urped all over her bed.
Brittney is always the calm in the eye of the storm. We got the bed changed, Tess changed and her tucked in within minutes – and then I shot out the door to work. That’s a pretty banal experience – nothing out of the ordinary. What I am noting is my gratitude for these two women who do physical therapy with her, feed her, cuddle her, challenge her, put up with our construction insanity and two neurotic new parents…and do it all with a smile. Nannying is fun, but it’s hard too. On the days when Tess is sick or exhausted and screams for hours, I feel so lucky to have these two taking care of her while we’re at work. It allows us to come home refreshed and calm, better parents!
From a NICU and an adoption standpoint, I remember being terrified to bring someone into our home, into Tess’ life. We worried about her bonding too much with other people, or them not taking her medical restrictions seriously and getting her sick. The first time she beamed at one of them, I was a little jealous. Let’s be honest (Dave will read this and tease me); a lot jealous. Someone else gets to spend the whole day with her! Now I just feel like we’re all a team, taking care of her in shifts.
A study just came out saying having multiple adult caregivers helps brain development. I can’t say I’m surprised. This wasn’t a planned bonus, but Tess has four different people who try to encourage her and teach her every day – and I’m pretty sure they all do it slightly differently. When we shared that she’s not meeting her milestones, mom dove in to – she got some baby boot camp the other night from a very determined grandma!
So you can imagine our joy – all of our joy! – when Tess started rolling over again today. Tummy to back only, but so far she’s done it three times unassisted. Like we turn around and she’s flipped! This might be a fluke and is merely a starting point for catching up again, but it’s exciting all the same. It takes a village, so I’m thrilled our village is in place. 🙂
