Ben Sloot

I wrote a bit about the family meltdown in Christmas Eve in my last post. I didn’t cover a few of the bigger questions we discussed following our frustrating experience.

As new and first time parents, we are faced with more unknowns than knowns. During the pregnancy, we quietly danced around conversations about #Chuck’s health.

We breathed a sigh of silent relief after each check up. We were thrilled to welcome a healthy baby girl in to the world. But everyone wants healthy and happy, right?

Following her birth and during these first three month, we’ve silently danced around conversations about #Chuck’s development.

Every parent friend, family member, and book suggests their own the timeline of baby development. I take personal anecdotes with a grain of salt, but the books and apps are eerily on point with ‘what happens when’ in #Chuck’s sleeping, eating and mood schedule.

But since day one, the #chabitant and I have waited for a certain cue from the baby… We’ve anticipated the first genuine smile. I’ll be honest, the first three months #Chuck has been difficult.

Of course we expected having a new baby to be difficult, but she’s exceeded all of those expectations. #Chuck is quick to shriek, slow to calm and a generally tough cookie.

The overwhelming experience on Christmas Eve was the breaking point. Why wasn’t our baby a happy baby? Why won’t she smile, no matter how much love and affection we show her?

Every decent book, blog and friend uses the same disclaimer when talking about childhood development. “Mileage may vary” or more accurately “every baby is different and some milestones may come sooner or later than expected.”

The first time I held #Chuck, I foolishly thought she’d never give me more than I could handle, but the #cohabitant and I went to sleep on Christmas Eve wondering if our baby would always be fussy. Would she always be angry at the world, or worse just her parents?

I’m in no place to give advice… but I’m going to give some advice anyway.

Be patient. Our sometimes stoic but often frenzied infant gave us a Christmas morning miracle as we had her on the changing table.