What a week. We’ve had an insurrection. I can’t seem to sleep.
Having a baby has been the best distraction this year. Obviously she’s so much more than a distraction. But when I find myself going down a rabbit hole of worry and despair about the world, and then I get a big, open-mouthed, three-toothed smile from Simone, everything feels a whole lot better.
Simone turned 9 months old on Saturday. This one feels especially significant. Maybe because that’s how long she was baking inside me? (Although pregnancy is closer to ten months, why don’t they tell you that?) All the cliches about time going by fast and her growing faster are shockingly true. I just gave birth yesterday. What happened?
Here are nine things about Simone, in no particular order:
1. Babies really are just little nuggets at the beginning. Little nuggets who need you all the time. It’s so cool to see her little (big!) personality emerging. Simone is incredibly curious and seems to feel her feelings in a big way. She’s a very smiley baby, but when she is unhappy, everyone knows it. Simone is not exactly subtle.
2. Simone is a morning person. One of the highlights of my day is scooping her up from her crib each morning, where she’s usually having a chat and a squeal with herself. “Bababababa,” she’ll exclaim, with enthusiasm. I get a big smile.
3. In so many ways, Simone takes after her doggy big brother. She loves tearing paper into paper confetti, just like he does. She chews on everything. She suffers from severe FOMO, just as he does. She usually ends up underneath the couch, somehow. And if you leave a door open, she’ll make a beeline, just like Ace does. (Having a dog has been excellent preparation for having a human baby. However, by this age, Ace was potty trained. Simone will catch up in her own time.)
4. Trying to change her is like wrestling with an octopus. It’s quite a challenge these days. So is the bath! There was a sweet spot a few weeks ago where she would sit in the tub and play with her stacking cups and let me wash her. But now she throws herself in all sorts of directions, and trying to hold onto and wash a slithery, soapy wet baby is a full body challenge.
5. Simone crawls everywhere now and is a speed demon. She can’t quite pull herself to stand yet, but she pulls herself to a kneeling position. Her favorite spot these days is by the bookshelf, where she’ll kneel in front of it and go through all the books, knocking them off the shelf and trying them out for taste. (Everything goes in her mouth!) She seems especially interested in the guide to Barcelona. I can’t wait to take her one day.
6. Her favorite toys include her daddy’s glasses, her daddy’s beard, my phone, Ace’s chewy sticks, bottles of tonic water and cans of beans. She loves music, especially “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “Baby Begula” (also known as Baby Simoney in our house)).
7. She loves bagels, green beans, blueberries, turkey and throwing her sippy cup on the floor. When she nurses or has a bottle, she likes to tug on my hair or my lip with all her might. She’s really strong for such a little person.
8. Simone has three teeth now, two on the bottom and one on the top.
9. I love her so much it hurts a little. I experience it as a sort of full-body ache.
Thanks for being such an amazing small person, Simone. I can’t wait to watch you grow into a bigger and bigger person. I hope the world becomes significantly safer and saner as you do.
PS: On the reading front, my Tana French binge continues. I’ve tread The Tresspasser, The Searcher, The Wych Elm, and am currently loving Into the Woods, which is more than a little disturbing but totally juicy.
PPS: Exciting news - you can now pre-order my new book Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family! It comes out in September.
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