Mother Pride

I am so unbelievably over the top with emotion I don't know if I can explain it all that well. I am warm and tingly all over. I am bubbling with emotions of happiness and sadness and pride and happiness and more happiness. That feeling that has, since the birth of Olivia, taken over all the other emotions that I have ever known. That feeling, can be none other explained as Mother Pride. It's that feeling I got the first time Olivia smiled at me. That feeling I felt the first time she recognized my voice. That feeling I felt the first time she reached out to touch my face. That feeling I relished in the first time she giggled. That feeling I wait for at first glimpse in the morning from her crib when I peek into her bedroom. Well, today is another one of those remarkable days where I get to indulge in that feeling because today, my baby girl cut her first tooth!

This morning started off as an ordinary morning. Liv squaking happily in her crib waiting for me to pop my head in and get the day started. After a quick play on the change table and a Poopy diaper change, we headed down for breakfast. Recently, Liv has been a little fussy pants when it comes to taking her bottle. She's always been the guzzling type so after a few time of her pushing the bottle away after only an ounce or two and refusing to drink, I hit the net. After weeding through all the standard self-diagnostic bullshit like: Your daughter could be experiencing early signs of anorexia BE WORRIED, and, Try gripe water Good Luck!, I found some reading info on teething and some of the obvious (duh why didn't I think of this?) signs of teething such as: Refusing to take a bottle. Check. Irritability. Check. .Drooling. Double Check (Step aside Niagara). Coughing. Check. (Sounds like she's been hackin' darts for 30 years). Biting and Gnawing. Check. (Puts Otis to shame). Ear Rubbing. This is a big one. Check. Check and Check. Okay -- my girl is teething, I get it, I get it!

So, I thought little of it this morning when she only drank 3 of her regular 6 oz. bottle. Besides, we have recently started on solids and figured maybe she was filling up. She had no problem packing in the baby rice cereal that's for sure! After breakfast, we played for about 35 seconds before she was rubbing her tired little eyes with her fists. Hmm....you've only been up for an hour. I thought it a little odd, but hey she's just a baby. I put her down for her morning nap an hour earlier then normal and hit the shower. Noni (Mother in Law from Heaven!) was on her way over to relieve me for the day. Tonight is date night! Yessssssss.......restaurants and real conversation with the Huzb and popcorn and a movie too!

Noni arrived and I ran for the door, I think I said goodbye. Off to run some errands, get a quick visit in with Dax and Bells before they hit the cottage for that's right, 10 days (not happy) and even managed to sneak in a quick pedi. Back at home. Time to relax a bit and take advantage of the day. Maybe I'll go do some gardening. Maybe I'll take a nap. Maybe I'll take a loooooong shower and shave my legs. It is date night after all. Decided. Am going to change, sit in sun for half hour then go have a shower and get ready.

Why, it dawned on my all of a sudden, is Liv so cranky right now? I peek into the living room where Noni is feeding her. She's shoving the bottle out of her hands and turning her head from side to side. Wow I say, that's aggressive. She's teething Noni replies. Hmm Mmm...how come she didn't need the Internet to tell her that? Noni sticks her hand into Liv's mouth and her (Noni) jaw nearly dropped down to the floor and her (still Noni) eyes nearly popped out of her head. OH MY GOD! She explained. Have you felt this? I run over to them and shoved my hand into Liv's mouth. What? What, have I felt what? I ran my finger across her bottom gum line. I do it all the time. I did it this morning. But this time it was scratchy. I screamed and cried all at the same time. I looked at Noni who was also screaming and then shoved my hand back into Livvie's mouth. Are you serious? Did she really just cut her first tooth? Like right now? I'm not sure I'm ready for this! She has a tooth coming in? She has a tooth coming in!

We brought her up to her bedroom and put her down on her change table to do a thorough inspection. Livvie, patiently, allowed me to open her mouth and check out her gum line and sure enough, there it was. The littlest most precious white sliver of a tooth peaking up through the gum line, like the top of a snow capped mountain just barely visible through the clouds. I broke down and ran around in circles then called the Huzb to tell him our little girl might as well enroll in college because she's all grown up. Then I called Dax and she told me next thing you know Olivia will be getting her period! We laughed and then we cried.

Olivia Jane you are growing so quickly it takes my breath away. Your first tooth. A 'special day' as my grandmother used to say.