My sister came over to babysit R on Friday night while B and I went out to see a movie and for dinner. She wanted to put R to bed herself, so I described the routine to her, left her a bottle of milk, and left hoping for the best.
We had a good time: we went to see 13 Assassins, which is a samurai movie set in 1844, about a small band of warriors trying to assassinate the sadistic brother of the shogun. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, because it was very well-done and exciting. The ending battle sequence was especially good, and wasn't repetitive or lagging, even at 45 minutes long. Then we went to eat Sichuanese food at Spices (their Chinese name is much better, it means Spicy Little Sister since the women of Sichuan are supposed to be beautiful and spunky/fiery). It was pretty good, and although it was not as spicy as actual food in Sichuan, it was the closest I've experienced in the US. B loves spicy food, especially Sichuan style (he used to eat massive quantities of it until he was sweating all over), so he was happy.
But my poor sister had her hands full. Little R suspected something was up, as she started making her heartbroken sad face (her mouth turns down in this perfect little pout; it's so cute) as we got ready to go. Then she apparently cried throughout her entire bath (usually she loves her baths and will frequently nod off in the tub because she's so relaxed), and her diapering and clothes changing, and also refused to eat anything (even though her father often feeds her bottles). She did not go to sleep, and was still wide awake (though thankfully no longer crying) when we got back at 11:30 pm. (She fell asleep as soon as I had fed her and tucked her into her crib.) My sister has of course spent time with R before (she has even babysat her before), so this was an unwelcome response.
We are planning to go away overnight for our anniversary (4 years June 23!), and will leave R with my parents. However, now I am worried about how R will do while we are gone: if she doesn't eat the whole time, she is going to be very sad indeed. So I am trying to make more of an effort to expose her to my parents and get her used to other people taking care of her. The bad part about me being home with her is that I am always the one to put her to bed and naps, and feed her, and so naturally she expects the same all the time.
Following the new policy, so far her father has been feeding her at least one bottle a day (we weren't doing this before because pumping and then feeding her means it takes twice as long, and I didn't feel it was worth it unless I had something to do), and we have been taking turns putting her to bed. Also, I took her to her grandparents' house on both Saturday and Sunday, and left her with them for a couple hours today while I went to Fry's with B (his favorite store). She cried at first (for about 10 minutes, which is a long time for her), but apparently cheered up and adjusted pretty well.
I thought she was too small to have much of an attachment to any particular person, but apparently not. I am not sure what else would help her feel more comfortable. Any suggestions?
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