The not-so-softer side of Maeryn

I sat for Maeryn tonight while Mike, Kate and Liza dashed off to the Cirq Circus. The giggly happy girl, how hard could sitting for her for two hours be?

I should have clued in on the drive home, when she was crying.

I didn't.

Maeryn was sweet and adorable and cute for the first two minutes after the three of them left. She giggled, and smiled and bounced. After those two minutes, she looked up and realized, holy crap, my mom isn't around. And that big big giant? That Da-Da one? He's gone, too! Even the little giant is gone. There's just this new one that shows up, and, good lord, it's time to cry.

And so she did.

I tried feeding her. That worked for only a few minutes. I tried walking and bouncing with her. That worked only as long as I was moving. I offered the walker. No luck. I offered the swingset. Nope. I tried feeding her mashed peas. Heck, even I'd cry at that one.

I tried changing her, which she needed. Still no luck. I tried burping her. Didn't help. She cried, cried, cried.

The only thing that stopped her was the walk between Maeryn's house and my house. Something about the crisp air and the new sights must have stopped her. For the moment, anyway, because she started up with a fervor when we arrived at my house. Even Kris couldn't distract her. Full lungs blowing, at one point, she tried to cry, burp, screech, cough and sneeze, and actually managed four of them, to my surprise.

After about twenty minutes, I walked Maeryn back to her house. She was quiet for that walk, oh thank goodness! I could only imagine the horror of a screaming child for those four doors. Two seconds after the front door shut, wham! the screaming began again.

I gave up, and plunked her in her crib. Five minutes later, and a few hiccups later, and she was asleep. Whoo hoo!

I'm not so good at this baby thing, so I've been checking in on her every ten minutes. Yep, still breathing.