Some Interesting Things About Eva

So, I am totally addicted to the website Baby Center.com. The website sends me weekly updates about what your baby is doing developmentally. Every time I receive the emails I think to myself, "That is TOTALLY Eva right now! This week's focus is on your baby's budding personality. Well, boy or boy, our baby's got some personality! Some call it vim and vigor, others call it spice. All I can say is that her personality takes my breath away both literally and figuratively. And it has flourished and fully blossomed in the last month. Eva demands a crowd wherever she goes. She knows all the staff at our local organic market and loves to hear her voice bellow throughout the aisles. I get looks from shoppers that range from, "Oh, what a cute, spunky little baby you've got there" to "Why aren't you doing anything to get her to stop screaming? Can't you control your little skawker?"

I took Eva to the infant lab at Bellevue College last week for a visit to their playgroup, which is a part of a Parent Education class that I hope to attend with her. The staff warned me about the tendency of many babies to get overstimulated and even cry at first with all the activity. Literally as they were saying this Eva had crawled over a circular padded octagon in the center of the play area and had thrust herself on the babies googooing and gaggaing in the center. She had her hand in their faces and had commandeered their play area and toys within seconds. It was so amazing to see my Alpha baby girl insert herself into the environment. I've never seen her so happy and stimulated. I could just see her sizing it all up. "There are kids here my own age and TONS of toys! They sing, feed me snacks, let me spill food all over myself! Did I mention the toys?? MOM! Why have you been holding out on me. THIS is AMAZING!" By the end of the two hour visit she had licked, coveted, and interacted with every thing and person there. I had to tear my little extrovert away.

Now, there is also the other, shall we say, dark side to Eva's personality. Her latest curve ball has been violent outbursts when she doesn't get her way. Her whole body goes stiff and she arches her back and neck and screams. This usually occurs after a bath, during a diaper change, or pretty much any moment when she doesn't get her way. In a moment of reckless abandon after a bath I gave her the comb that she was pining for so that I could get her diaper on. I then heard a gagging, choking noise and realized that she had crammed the entire comb down her throat and it appeared that she had also chewed two of the teeth off the comb. I rescued the comb from her throat and immediately called 911. In the end all was well. Turns out the comb already had a few teeth missing; I just didn't know this to be true. It was quite a moment for me since I had to sit with the feeling that all was not well for quite some time. My take-away from this incident is to never give your child an object that you are reluctant to admit doing so to a fireman. Amen to that, sister.

In summary, I really do adore Eva's feisty personality. It's forcing me to be a creative parent and present everything as a game to my little (but mighty) willful one. That moment at the infant lab at Bellevue College was a proud momma moment for me as Eva flourished in her element: she was a confidant, social being who wanted to BE and EXPERIENCE everything at once. Inhaling the comb is just, well, the other side to that personality trait. We can't inhale everything that we see. As Eva's parent I am here to be the filter for her until she can safely comb her way through life on her own without any teeth missing. And, until that day comes, I hope all of you seasoned parents will help Jeff and me down this path. We're going to need all the help that we can get!