Uncle to the rescue

Today Madeline had to put up with me for several hours before another uncle came to rescue her. In the morning she said time with her dad would be no problem at all.

But then she got to thinking: I'll have to take a bottle, and it's gray and rainy so we probably won't even go outside!

As her situation began to sink in, she clutched her blanket tightly and stroked lizard friend's head trying to come to terms with it.

She tried to make the best of it, taking a few naps and even once latching solidly to the bottle for a few minutes, but today still involved quite a bit of fussing and quite a few sad faces. And three diaper blowouts (two outfits not pictured).

Thankfully Summer was on hand for when Madeline most vehemently declared her simultaneous dire hunger and disregard for the bottle. We made an effort to keep Summer sequestered so she could work and we could encourage bottle-feeding, but she stepped in when Madeline sounded unhappiest. Trying to keep Madeline fed but not one hundred percent reliant on Summer's presence to eat is a tricky row to hoe. Most attempts at bottle-feeding still lead to fussing.

A surprising exception from the fussy atmosphere this afternoon was New and Improved Propped-on-a-Pillow tummy time, which Madeline tolerated admirably for at least a few minutes.

But much better for Madeline was uncle's arrival by train around four this afternoon.

She was so happy for the new company that she willingly returned with us to L.J.'s, where we had some delicious barbecue.

After meeting another new and exciting person, Madeline fought sleep again. Actually, we suspect the day-fussing and sleep-fighting have to do not only with teething (great-grandma confirmed our diagnosis of a lower left-hand tooth beginning to show beneath the gum) but also with a growth spurt -- Madeline's insatiable these days. And she does seem to be getting big!