In this photo Addi is sporting a "someone I love went to Hawaii and all I got was this t-shirt" t-shirt, some handmedown baha shorts, her favorite SDSU jackrabbit socks, pink maryjane crocs and a tyedye sun hat (on a cloudy day).
Before you wonder why I would let my child out in public like this (although, truth be told we are not leaving our yard today) let me explain myself.
I know right from wrong. I usually know what is the correct thing to do in most situations. Whether I choose to do the right thing is another story.
At about 14 months I thought about taking Addi off the bottle. I started making excuse after excuse about her needed the bottle. It's too hard for her to see Nora's bottle and not feel excluded. She needs the soothing nipple still. She is teething. On and on and on...
I knew that I would regret having to take two bottle to ball games all summer. It would be difficult to keep cow's milk cold and it would be just plain embarrassing to have an 18 month old toting the baba around by her teeth.
It was that last part that I finally sucummed to. I took her to the game on Tuesday night where the public kept me accountable. It was embarrassing. It was wrong. Worst of all, it was mostly hurting my baby and her dental health, not to mention my ego.
Wednesday morning I woke up and made her throw her bottles in the garbage. She screamed, she yelled, she threw a fit. She refused milk in ANY cup. She didn't nap. She cried herself to sleep that night.
The next morning she got up, rubbed her eyes, looked up to the counter where Nora's bottles sat and said, "uh?". I said, "all gone". She looked a little forlorn. I almost gave in to her little lost face. Then she sort of shrugged her shoulders and walked away. That was it. Done deal.
She has small fits of restlessness, especially at nap or night time, when I think she really just wants to be soothed. Right now I using fresh fruit or a toothing chewy to soothe her at those moments. She is still getting teeth faster than grass grows, I think she must have a hundred or so.
Today, she brought me her favorite socks and her favorite hat and her shoes and wanted to get dressed. I gave in. I dressed her like a tourist.
She was happy.
I didn't have to hear her throw fit while I forced a matching outfit on her.
Everybody wins.
2 comments:
Did I ever tell you the story about the Monkey wearing his camouflage pants to school every day for two solid weeks? Did I mention that those two weeks happened during the "I wear my shirts backwards, it's just my style" phase?
Needless to say, I think she looks like a stylin' little rock star. A happy, stylin' little rock star, to boot.
Well, yes she is happy and a rock star, but stylin'....not.
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