Our First Scare as Parents

Last night was difficult. Keira hadn't been taking the bottle. She'll eat the rice cereal, but no formula from the bottle. We've been worried about her getting dehydrated. Then, around 9:00 tonight, she started fussing, then wailing at the top of her lungs - the hard, ear piercing, unconsolable wail. She would only stop if we held her tight. Start to set her down and the wailing came back; pick her up and it stopped instantly. Worked like a switch.

We were so worried. Bob, who never worries and was on his way out the door to the hotel clinic when his sister, Shelly, called (tipped off by Grammy). Shelly has an 8 month old and was a wealth of information and help. It was like having an advise nurse on the line.

Shelly helped us determine that Keira was not dehydrated. So, we figured that although the first night was peaceful, Keira was probably finally having some separation emotions on the second night and just wanted to feel safe and secure.

So, at about 9:30 Bob put her in the hip harness and walked around the hotel for an hour. Keira fell fast asleep and slept through the night. This morning she was just fine. Ate the rice cereal and drank the bottle. Only minor complaining when we put her down to sleep tonight.