James is a good father... and also a good husband. I like him.
Last night our poor baby starting acting ill... The first sign was that she started nursing twice as much as if something was bothering her. She'd been congested all day, was coughing, and sounded hoarse whenever she cried. And, as James pointed out, she did not realize that the worst thing you can do for your sore throat is to scream at the top of your lungs for as long as possible.
Well, we went to bed. I soon realized that nursing her to sleep was not going to work its usual wonders... In fact, because she was so congested, she just got more worked up and frustrated the more she nursed. Soon I ended up with a screaming baby. I tried singing for her, but that wasn't working so well.
James came down and started bouncing with her on our exercise ball, which calmed her down some. (She doesn't like it as much when I do it for some reason.) She wasn't completely appeased though, and complained a bit until he started singing. She was quiet until our neighbors pounded on the wall for him to shut up. Sigh. That was somewhat depressing, but Amelia rewarded them by crying with renewed vigor.
If Amelia has the same kind of sick that I am right now, I sympathize with her. I was also feeling sick to my stomach and sore all over. (Gugh.) Because I was feeling ill, James sent me to bed. He also did so because I was going to be taking care of her for the entirety of the next day (or at least until he came home after the sun went down). It was very nice of him.
Amelia woke us up a few more times in the night; if feeding didn't soothe her, James would take her downstairs for more bouncing. She'd eventually fall asleep in his arms, but in order to keep her calm and asleep, he'd have to continue bouncing. She'd also flail a lot in while sleeping, and the weight of his hands on her arms kept her calm.
I think Amelia likes James. Once I went to visit him on campus with Amelia. She'd been grumpy on the bus ride, but as soon as she saw James her face blossomed into a beautiful smile. Then the two of them played a bit. It was cute.
James is also pretty awesome in that he listens to me if I think he should be doing something better. Just this week, I noticed something he was doing that bothered me. For much of the time when he was holding Amelia in the evenings after coming home from school, he'd basically try to get her to be quiet and ignore her while playing on the computer. I told him that this was fine and dandy in small amounts, but it was happening enough that it made me sad. After some thought, I suggested that instead he explain to her what he was doing...
So now, James will talk to her about his email. He will explain StarCraft to her as he watches the professionals play. And if he's playing a silly game on Kongregate, he'll explain that to her as well. (Pew! Pew! Hey Amelia, see the blue guys? They are bad. Pew pew!)
James is so nice. I really appreciate him, especially because he lets me have some "me" time each evening.1 Sigh. He's so awesome. (Can you tell I'm completely smitten?)
Oh, and one more thing. He makes me food all the time, and cleans the apartment fairly often.2 Mmmm, husbands are delicious.
Love with hearts popping out of our heads,
Jenna and Amelia
1 Before Amelia, I actually disliked showers with a hefty dose of dread. I hated getting wet. I don't like it. But now, after she's arrived, I find that I eagerly anticipate my showers each day. They are luxuriously wonderful... hot water, being clean... and I can't even hear baby screams over the water sounds.↩
2 As motivation to be productive every day, he has the following goals: leave the house Monday through Friday by 7:30am or clean one room; be productive for all but one hour from 8am to 5pm each Monday through Friday or clean one room; no playing games until after studying for at least one hour each day (on Sundays this means some sort of gospel study); and, most recently added, check the Internet only three times daily. At this rate, he'll be even more awesome in no time. :)↩
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