Hold-Me Baby

I love cuddling with Brannon and Mary Ellen, and even my furry little Benny (whose nickname is "killer" now because he finally caught and killed a squirrel and brought it as a present to my mother-in-law). I love holding my baby. I like walking around with her, sitting with her, laying with her and playing on the floor with her.

But I would also like the option of putting her down to entertain herself so mommy can do laundry or cook dinner or do whatever.

Nope. No such luck. At least not anytime soon. What we have here is what I like to call a "hold-me baby." I used to take care of these babies all the time in the church nursery. You know what I'm talking about. These are the babies that wince and cry the moment you try to place them somewhere - anywhere!

You can try the swing - cry.
You can try the Bumbo seat - cry.
You can try the infant seat - cry.
Excersaucer - cry.
Toys - cry.

You get the picture. Some babies won't even let you bend at the waist because they know in their little baby minds that next comes the possibility of being placed somewhere - anywhere! I have this type of baby. Mary Ellen loves to be held and walked about. It wasn't such a big deal when working in the nursery because in 45 minutes Mommy and Daddy were coming to pick up their hold-me baby. Now I'm the mommy that the nursery workers wait on!

I knew we were in trouble when Brannon and I picked up Mary Ellen at the nursery two Sundays ago. I was well informed that Mary Ellen liked to be walked and that putting her down was not an option. Uh-huh. Well, I just thought they didn't know what they were talking about. I was wrong. Mary Ellen bores easily and will fuss if you walk away from her for too long - or at all. I'm now starting to let her fuss some before I run to her because girlfriend is going to have to learn to occupy herself, at least a little. I'll take 10 minutes. Okay, 1 minute.

All joking aside, I wouldn't trade my "hold-me-baby" for anything in the world. I love her fussiness and all the other personality traits that are developing little by little. I love Mary Ellen because she is who she is and she is developing into her own person. She may take on traits from her Daddy and me, but she is who she is and some things are all her own. It's wonderful to witness. I can't wait to see who she will be later on.

But right now, I'm just going to enjoy walking and holding my baby.

Till next posting, I love you all!