Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Firsts

Roxi went to her first wedding on Saturday. She looked adorable in her white and pink dress with wee white sneakers to match. I snapped a photo on the way out the door, which turned out to be good thinking. She was a sweet little angel right until the ceremony started. And then, whoa. The girl cried and cried. Rob removed her from the area (it was an outdoor wedding on CSU's campus). She seemed to calm down afterwards, so we went inside for the reception ... where our darling girl proceeded to wail. Roxi already knows how to make an entrance, it would seem. Needless to say, we bagged the whole affair. Signed the guest book on the way out so at least the bride and groom would know we were there, stopped at the liquor store and Big City Burrito on the way home for sustenance and then enjoyed our burritos and large martinis while Roxi slept happily in her swing.

Then, on Sunday, and this makes me giddy just typing it, Roxi said "mom" for the first time. I swear. Rob was right next to me and heard it, too. Of course, she had no idea what she was saying. Roxi has become quite the babbler of late, and "mom" was just one of the syllables that came out. But it was crystal clear, and she paused a bit after saying it - and before launching into her next nonsensical soliloquy.

The hard part lately has been evenings. Roxi has been screaming consistently for the past several nights, sometimes for several hours. It nearly brought me to tears last night. I have a new appreciation for parents of colicky babies. Anyway, the crying seems to be gas-related. She arches her back, shoots out her little legs and wails. We were concerned that it might have something to do with switching to formula, but the crying only happens in the evening. I broke down and called the doctor today. Rhonda, his wonderful nurse, recommended giving Roxi gas relief medicine in the afternoon and again in the early evening. If that doesn't do the trick in 3-4 days, she said to put 1 1/2 teaspoons of dark Karo syrup in her afternoon bottle. Interesting, huh? The Karo syrup apparently helps with constipation. This story might already have a happy ending though. No screaming so far tonight. Fingers crossed ...