wrapped around her little finger

Today is a special day in the Brown household. Why? Because it was one month ago today that Polly and I were blessed with the birth of our beautiful daughter Genevieve. One month would not warrant celebration to anyone reading this, but age is typically calculated in months for babies under the age of two. So, for Genevieve and her parents, one month is a big milestone.

What's amazing to me is how much she has accomplished in her first month. Sure, she cannot walk (though she loves pushing off on those legs) or talk (though she does make noises and is my child, so that will come soon enough...and never go away) or spend any time outside of a diaper. But she has learned a few cool things.

For one thing, she has figured out that holding her pacifier helps it stay in her mouth. For another, she has learned how to smile. Yes, she has learned how to do a few things. But none are more impressive than this: she has learned how to wrap her daddy around her little finger.

It blows my mind. How could a one-month-old baby have such control over a twenty-seven year old man? Well, she does. What's crazier is that I'm completely okay with it. I cannot help myself. I'm in love. Every time I look into her eyes and she looks back into mine, my heart skips a beat. And when she looks at me it's with a look that says, "Daddy, I'm your little girl" I cannot contain my joy. She already has me wrapped around her little finger. Let me give you a perfect example.

It was Valentine's Day (how fitting, right?). Polly, Genevieve and I left the house at 9:00 AM for a long packed-out day. We visited friends at my old work in Waltham, went to Red Robin for lunch, had my ordination interview and finally went to dinner at a Chinese buffet. We didn't arrive home until around 6:00 PM. Nine hours of being on-the-go.

After a bath (she made a bit of a mess while waiting for that interview) she started fussing. We tried all the normal tricks. We tried bouncing her, standing up and swaying her, sitting down and rocking her (all also examples of her being in control...I mean, after a long day, I wanted to sit. It wasn't up to me), giving her a pacifier and putting her in her swing. Nothing seemed to be working. She ate, was burped and started fussing again...twice. She had a clean diaper. We could not figure out what she wanted.

Finally, I decided to pat her back to make sure she wasn't gassy. I was lying down on my bed at this point. As soon as her head hit my shoulder, she stopped fussing. I didn't even have to pat her back. Knowing that she likes to have her back patted and rubbed, I did it anyway. She laid there for at least 20 minutes, wide awake and completely calm. Finally, she fell asleep. Polly told me I could put her in her swing to sleep since she was washing her bassinet sheets. I told her there was no way. I was going to let her sleep on me. And she did, for the next couple hours.

Polly and I learned a lesson. We had missed the obvious. We were out-and-about with her all day, spending time with her. But the vast majority of that time was spent in a car seat for her. What she longed for was to be cuddled. And daddy was not about to tell her no. Cuddling she wanted and cuddling she got. This moment melted my heart. I could feel the squeeze of me being wrapped tighter around her finger. And I did not fight it. How could I? I'm in love!