The Things We Do For Our Kids

I think by now everyone knows how I feel about bugs. I just want to make sure that it is perfectly clear how much I detest them and am so grossed out by them. Now that that has been stated....

Natalie and I were playing in the toy room Tuesday while Weston was taking a nap. I had just vacuumed the day before so the floor was perfectly clear of any debris or small objects that Natalie could pick up and try to eat. It is hard getting used to that stage again - where everything is a choking hazard.

Natalie is getting much better with her crawling skills. Within the past few days she is starting to scoot a lot more. She still can't get up on all fours, but she is getting really skilled in rolling around, scooting backwards, and moving around in circles. She can usually cover quite a distance with no actual real crawling. It's kind of entertaining.

The problem that Natalie has is that she loses her drive. She finds a focus and determination to try to crawl, but then after she realizes that it is just too much work, she doesn't care anymore and finds something else to do or reach for. I think she gets that complacent attitude from me, whereas Weston gets his intense drive and determination from his dad. Hopefully she picks up some of that drive though - I at least find determination and drive when it is something I really want.

I think I discovered the thing she really wants. We were in the toy room and her playmat gym was laying on the ground. It was on its side so all of the toys were just laying on the floor. One of the toys is a big reflecting mirror. She saw herself reflected in it and got so excited! She really started reaching at that point. I think she gained the most progress in her crawling when she saw herself. I guess that is a girl for you.

I ended up leaving the room for a second and I come back to see her chewing on something. She was chewing pretty hard and had a big smile on her face. I was thinking "what could she have possibly found?"

I reached into her mouth to swipe it out. I felt it but just brushed past it. It was rather large and kind of crunchy feeling. My immediate thought was that it felt like a bug but I tried hard to push that out of my mind so I would have the courage to touch it again. I reached back in and swiped it out of the corner of her mouth. I flung it onto the floor and started to investigate.

At first it appeared to be the leftovers of a pinto bean from our dinner the night before. Upon closer examination I saw that it was the top half of a roach! There his head was - staring right back at me. Aagh!!!! I had no time for the bug dance here. I was so disgusted I had to use everything in my power not to pass out. I looked back at her to see if she was still chewing on anything. I didn't see anything so I assumed she had already swallowed the other half. Aagh! I hurried and ran to the bathroom to grab some toilet paper to pick it up before she got her hands on it again. I quickly washed my hands too, but I couldn't get rid of the way that bug felt on my fingers. I still "felt" it for a few hours after that.

Once I properly disposed of the remains, I turned back to Natalie and saw that she had a leg sticking out of her mouth. I lost it again. I couldn't touch it. I ended up taking a nearby stuffed animal and using that to get it off of her face. I know, I am pathetic. The real pathetic part is that it took me several hours to gain the courage to breastfeed her because I couldn't get her mouth that close to me. Don't worry - I did feed her some solid food in the meantime. She didn't starve.

I am sure that in ten years she would love to know that she ate a cockroach. Yum!