pacified

Genevieve is a little bit of a fusser. Thankfully she sleeps well during the night (most nights), but she certainly has her moments. Occasionally she is content to simply lie down, but typically there needs to be some movement involved. Usually, if she's moving she's happy. This makes car rides quite enjoyable. But it does not make things very easy when I am tired and want to relax and she wants to move around the house and look at things (usually lights, as I indicated in yesterday's blog post). The easiest thing to do in that moment is to give her a pacifier. 

Polly and I have determined, however, to try all alternatives before succumbing to the temptation of using a binky as a solution. We would prefer not to create a pacifier-dependent situation. But let's face it...when nothing else seems to calm her down, we bust out the binky. And, more often than not, it satisfies her (the only times it doesn't seem to be when she's gassy, poor thing).

She can be screaming her little (and powerful...from daddy) lungs off, getting all worked up. She can be so upset she's breathing heavily. But once the pacifier hits her mouth, she starts settling down (she winds down with a few soft whimpers and brings her hands to her cheeks...so cute). One day, as I was watching this phenomenon, it got me thinking: what if solving problems was that easy for adults.

I mean, think about it. What if an adult could be an emotional wreck and all worked up only to instantly calm down at the presentation of a pacifier. "Oh no, my girlfriend just left me...I will never find love again...I am so broken...I am so [insert pacifier] at peace with all things around me [suck, suck, suck]...why are there tears in my eyes? What happened?"

The thought seems silly, right? The scenario seems far-fetched. That's because it is...for adults. But for babies, this is essentially exactly how it works. Why shouldn't it though? I mean a baby's biggest problem is typically that he/she's not being pampered enough or has a dirty diaper. It's not like they're pacifying serious problems with the pacifier. Nonetheless, that thought comes to my mind now whenever I give Genevieve her pacifier.

For the record, no matter what method works (rocking her, singing to her, giving her a pacifier, etc.), my favorite times with Genevieve occur when she's pacified.