TEETHING TERRORS

🌷I cannot recall the last time Evie was not teething. I read a funny meme that wrote “parenting is continuing so say “I think she’s teething” until a tooth pops through….” In other words, babies are ALWAYS teething. That’s been our experience with Evie. I’m pretty sure there was snow on the ground the last time we weren’t feeling this way (8 months ago.) So, as we continue to debate whether you can overmedicate a baby (it feels like she’s needed meds for so long,) Phil and I also had to prepare daycare and my parents for us to be away for a few days.

Having a work conference in NYC, Phil and I decided to make a long weekend out of it. Both of us love the City, but it’s become so expensive (and so dangerous,) there were multiple reasons we haven’t been back. We had, however, wanted to visit for quite some time so our last memory of this City wasn’t one of intense pain. We visited NYC with Phil’s mom and aunt during the Christmas season 2 years ago. I had just been laid off (the trip was booked well before this,) and due to mobility issues, we were limited to a very small block radius. The trip was a disaster. We had completed our second transfer with Kimmy, and I was SO CONFIDENT it was going to work. I was so excited to get the news while in NYC that we were finally pregnant! That did not happen. Instead, Phil and I were walking back from Central Park when we received the news that the transfer was a complete failure. I was heartbroken. I completely broke down, barely able to walk, histerically crying, as Phil tried to get me back to the hotel.  Life felt completely unbearable. I felt like a baby was so far away. Evie didn’t feel like a possibility. I kept imagining “what if” we never got our baby. I knew I would never be okay.

Thankfully, we did get our positive pregnancy 4 months later.

BUT, since then, thoughts of NYC elicited those painful memories.

Now, our most recent memories of NYC include walking around the West Village and Tribeca, having the best dining experience of our lives (omakase), where we randomly sat be a couple that lives in Minneapolis, walking peacefully around Central Park, and most importantly, knowing that even when we left one of our favorite cities, we got to go home to our daughters, Darla and Evie. We have both spent short amounts of time away from Evie. Although we know she is in great hands (her grandparents’), we miss her more and more each time we leave her. Although having couple time is nice (and imperative,) we spend so much of this time chatting about how fortunate we are to have this life. We had to fight like fucking hell for it, and because of that, we’ll never take it for granted. Pre-baby, vacations were a reprieve, and during our fertility struggles, vacations were a way to avoid the sad reality of our lives. Now, vacations are more enjoyable than ever because we get to take them, and return to a life we are so happy with having.🌷