Strop shop and jet lag

The last couple of days Em's really been acting up and I have to put it down to jetlag.

Sue and I have been spoilt as far as parenting goes. Em has been such a great kid, with a wonderful disposition that when she does get a strop on, it's really unexpected. Usually, she cries for one of a few reasons - including hunger or thirst. The last couple of days, she's really turned on the random shrieking, which has freaked Sue and I out, but we can only imagine what jet lag is doing to her.

Too many times we've had toforceably wake her from a VERY deep sleep for food or just to readjust her body clock. When she then awakes at 3am, she's thoroughly confused why we're not up to play.

During this whole jetlag ordeal, I'm reminded of what we might be able to expect when the terrible twos hit, as Em can be quite forceful in her crying and screaming.

I hope the honeymoon period of having a wonderful child isn't over and indeed never ends. This glimpse into a "what if" reality only makes me happier about the Emily we do have.

She's illin'!

There's something wrong with Em. She's really docile and isn't moving all that much. It could be a number of things - jetlag, heat stroke, coming down with mummy's cold, etc.

It's rough being ill on holiday and she really has no concept of jetlag - although she's gone through it enough, with trips to Europe, Seattle, Toronto, and Oz all under her tiny little belt. We've given her Calpol in the hopes it will keep her (tiny) fever down and bring her back to perkiness.

Watch this space.

Dukka Dukka

Emily's not speaking yet, perse, but she is getting more verbal. Apart from the ubiquitous "da da" (always first with the important words!) she's now been known to add utterances that sound similar to "ape" and just today we heard something similar to "ma ma". Of course, to her it's just babbling as she has no clue that we are called mum and dad.

The one phrase she is uttering quite a bit, and it really started in Canada, is "dukka dukka". It's quite cute watching her furrowed brow get to grips with the complexities of a stuffed toy while uttering it in all seriousness. Not quite so cute, when she's saying it behind a wall of crying and tears, but the good and the bad come with the territory.

We're now back from the great white north and Emily had a lovely time. She seems - touch wood - to be coping with the jet lag better than mummy and daddy as it's currently 1am and neither of the adults are ready for bed, yet Emmers is fast asleep.

Having brought her back into her familiar surroundings, it's quite amazing how much she's changed in the three weeks we were away. Apart from uttering "dukka dukka" all the time, she's also noticeably taller, and she's begun pulling herself up when you go to pick her up. We're going to have to figure out quite soon how to drop the floor down a level on her crib.

I was once told to cherish these first few months as they are only that - a few months. I really didn't know how true that was until we got home.