The Baby You Can Handle.

While I was pregnant the most comforting piece of advice I got from veteran moms and grandmothers was: "You get the baby you can handle."  I wasn't sure what I could handle so if these wise women were right I would give birth to a self sufficient, walking and talking baby preferably with her own income.

Instead, we got totally helpless, totally reliant on two adults named Gerald and Jeannine,  totally beautiful Clara Jane.  Since becoming a mom I have commiserated with many other moms about the trials and tribulations of being a new parent and all the issues that come with caring for a growing baby.  So if it's true that you get the baby you can handle, this is the baby we could handle.

Clara had no problem switching from the breast to the bottle, which allowed Gerald to help me at night when we were feeding newborn Clara every two hours and we were trying to give each other each a connected four hours of sleep each night.

Clara hated tummy time with a passion and did not learn to roll over very well which is a milestone pediatricians look for but has become an early crawler an creeper regardless of missed tummy time.

She has had relatively little trouble with teething (knock on wood), and is currently cutting teeth number four and five.

She had no adverse reaction to vaccinations and I think I was more upset about her getting shots than she was.

Apart from one day of sniffles, she has not been ill.

She did have a terrible time with gas for about 3 months - crying, leg pumping woe.  But we found a homeopathic remedy called Colic Calm and it eased her trouble considerably.

She has taken to solid food with a passion.  Apart from an abject hatred of broccoli she pretty much will eat anything we give her.

We transitioned her into her crib and her own bedroom at 3 and a half months, and she was fine with it.  I, on the other hand, had the separation anxiety and heart palpitations in her stead.

It has taken her longer to sleep through the night than most babies I have heard about but as of 2 weeks ago she has begun to sleep through the entire night.  7pm to 6 am.

So if the old saying is true, the baby Gerald and I could handle was (and is) an easy baby.   Not sure what that says about me and Gerald, but I am forever grateful.