Waiting for Words

Yes, I know, it's entirely too early for him to be talking yet. But I so wish that he would! I would love it if he could say, "Mommy, I had a bad dream" or "Mommy, my ear aches" or "I just wanted you to come here, Mommy."

I want to know what's going on. Just when I feel as if I've gotten a hang of this whole motherhood thing, he throws me for another loop. Tonight, for example, he went to sleep early because he missed his morning nap and it showed. About 30 minutes after he went down, however, he woke up. And he didn't just wake up, he woke up squealing.

We've struggled with sleeping for a while, but this seemed different than normal. So I went in to check on him. Was he warm from crying or was he running a fever? D brought the thermometer. Of course, the battery was dying. It took a good two minutes to get up to 98 degrees, and then it stuck there. So we're assuming that he doesn't have a fever. We had a little more bottle and then put him back to bed. He went straight to sleep and hasn't woken up since (even when I went in to check on him).

It's probably nothing. Or if it is something, it's an ear infection and we'll have to go back to the doctor. But it's so frustrating not knowing if I'm supposed to be worrying or not. My default setting is, of course, worrying, and I have a tendency to worry myself into a neurotic mess (just ask D).

I want an owner's manual for my baby! At the very least, I want instructions, even if they're shouted at the top of his baby lungs (which are quite capable, thank you very much).

So I'm waiting for words. I guess, as a parent, you're always waiting for something (sleep, words, walking, potty training, curfew…)!