Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Why is this baby different from all other babies?

...because all other babies, apparently, love the baby swing. This baby, however, does not.

On p. 54 of What to Expect: The First Year (c. 2003, 7 million copies sold), it says "Ask most parents to name the single best piece of baby equipment they purchased, and chances are they'll say the baby swing. Baby swings can be nothing short of miraculous when it comes to soothing a fussy baby."

Eliza is not a particularly fussy baby, though she does have her moments. But the swing, rather than calm a fussy Eliza, makes a calm Eliza fussy. It's hilarious -- she'll be hanging out, looking around the room, just soaking in the scenery, and then BAM -- put her in the swing, and she starts fussing. Grunting, groaning, then crying. Anything, please, anything, but the swing, Mommy and Daddy. Pick her up, sit her down, put her in her car seat of all things, put her down in the pack-n-play, swaddle her in a straitjacket, whatever -- and she's more or less satisfied. But the baby swing? No...please no...

Here are some pictures of Eliza during her third week of life:




Eliza's smile...


Eliza's first Seder:

*yes, that's her in the top-right corner in the baby swing. Hey, you can't win 'em all.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh! Oh! Oh! I used to see Dan and now I see Katie! But mostly, Liza is beautiful. As the youngest, doesn't she have a big role to play at the Seder?

Anonymous said...

I know you're supposed to recline during the Passover Seder, but I've never heard of swinging. I'll have to try that, maybe tomorrow night.

Anonymous said...

MG, you're right -- we already started teaching little Eliza to sing the Mahnishtahnah. Annual performances await... By the way, her Daddy is overjoyed to no longer be the youngest at the table!

B-- the seder swing could be a whole new wave of Judaism!

Anonymous said...

oh, that smile! i love it. (am i driving you crazy with all the commenting?)

anyway, m and j were a no go on the swings, too. BUT, after a bit, they decided they'd be friends with the side to side swing. hated front/back, loved side to side (there are a few cradle swings that do the side to side). if you're desperate. if she's happy elsewhere, you probably don't need more equipment. and hey, you didn't even ask for advice. feel free to tell me to shut up!

Unknown said...

She is sooooo cute. And you guys look really happy. The entry about the swing was hilarious. Maybe she prefers the car seat cause she knows she going on an adventure -- feeling the movement of the car under her and seeing the scenery rush by, like a movie.

Keep posting cause it's great to see her development and hear from you!

xxoo, Alex