Giddyup, Mama!

If there's one thing Maddie can't seem to get a enough of lately it's being strapped to me in the Snugli carrier and in motion. For some reason the swing and stroller don't hold the same appeal to her as the Snugli. Plus she hates sitting in her car seat for extended periods of time (e.g. walking around the grocery store or going to the mall). So knowing this we decided to try the Snugli out for our weekly shopping trip this past Saturday, and sure enough, Maddie loved it. She didn't fuss once. She did however, get a little impatient when I stopped to look at something and would kick her feet as if to say, "Giddyup, Mama!" It was actually pretty funny. By the time we had gone to the grocery store and then to the mall, I was completely worn out, but Maddie was still kicking. I have a feeling I'm going to be getting a lot of exercise when the weather warms up and we can walk outside.

Maddie is an interesting kid. She defies the conventional advice given in most baby books. She can be demanding and at times fussy (or "zesty" as Grandma prefers). Those of you who know me know that I wouldn't be me if I didn't do tons of research to figure out just what's up with Maddie and how to make her happy. I ended up buying a book called "The Fussy Baby Book." I hate to put a label on my baby, but she definitely fits the profile of a "spirited child" or "high needs child." This is actually a good thing --- although it definitely makes my life a little harder.

Maddie is full of character. She knows what she wants. For example, she wants to be walked about the house in the evening and she has assigned that task to her daddy (not me). When she's happy, her babbles can be joyfully loud. We've just learned to go with what works -- to meet her needs so that everyone's happy. Maddie isn't the type of kid who will give in when we've tried to impose our rules on her. She is very persistent and will outlast us with her loud protests.

The one thing that I've noticed recently is that she seems to be very sensitive to strangers. All the baby books will tell you that this doesn't happen until much later, but I'm pretty sure Maddie has caught on to this already. Examples:

• Matt's parents came for a visit a few weeks ago, and when we handed Maddie over to her MaMa, she got this "I don't know who this person is" look on her face. She did gradually warm up to Matt's parents and I think being in her own environment when they visited helped.
• We visited my family a couple weekends ago and Maddie cried the entire time. She didn't want anyone but me or Matt to hold her (and even then she was fussing). We couldn't quite figure out what was going on. As soon as we walked through the front door of my grandma's house she started fussing. We assumed it was because she had a dirty diaper and was hungry. Once those things were addressed, she still kept fussing. Looking back, I wonder if it's because she knew she was somewhere different. I also wonder if she would have reacted differently to her grandparents had we been at home where she's more familiar with the surroundings.
• At the mall this weekend, we bumped into one of Matt's co-workers. She was talking to Maddie and reached out to touch her hand. Maddie immediately pulled her hand back and cried.
  

So I guess this is something we're going to have to work on. We're going to Kansas City this weekend for Matt's mom's birthday so we'll see how that goes. I always love a challenge and I definitely have a very sweet, but challenging baby. :)