my little friend

I think I have a pretty good feel for my kids personalities..  reading them (and giving them what I think they need) might be one of my superhero powers.  I always see them as little adults trapped in tiny bodies.  I talk to them as if they are the same age as me.  I think it helps me parent better.  Sometimes I ask them what they need and explain that I don't have all the answers.  I need their input because it's all new to me.  Mothering isn't new, but up until a few weeks ago, I'd never had 6 kids before.  So that's what I constantly tell my baby.  "I'm sorry I'm not doing everything right.  I've never had 6 kids before.  Maybe you will understand someday, but until then, help me out. Tell me what you need!"

I feel like Eden is really good at communicating what she needs.  I've never had a baby like her.  She is so unbelievably sweet.  Softness and tenderness is just gushing from her entire body.  But she seems really timid and shy.  And it's so funny because I get this sense that she really wants to be friends with me.  That sounds arrogant even typing it out, but this girl loves me.  I feel it from her.  She really wants to be BFFs and hang out with me.  She never wants to leave my side.  She will be okay with Aaron and the boys for a little while, but she needs me.  She wants me to hold her all day long.  Girl would be content in a sling and never eat if I would just hold her close to me.

She does NOT like sleeping alone.  From the minute she was born, if I put her in the bassinet next to my bed, she would fuss.  She wasn't hungry, she didn't need a diaper change, she wanted to be next to me.  She's still this way 8 weeks later.  I've never had a baby sleep in my bed... it's not my thing.  I sleep better when they are in another room and would prefer to get up several times and walk to them if that means I can have a few solid hours of sleep alone in my bed.  But this girl will NOT sleep without me.  And I am starting to think the best place for her (at least for now) is on my pillow, inches away from my face.

What's so cute about this relationship that we have is that I really like being around her too.  I mean, she's a baby and I've always loved babies.. But Roma never needed me like Eden does.  Roma demanded a lot from me and she never appreciated what I did for her (still doesn't).  I was always trying to please her, with no real tenderness or affection exchanged (not to compare, I love my Roma girl to death, she was just a very different kind of baby.  Very independent and demanding at the same time.)  But Eden dishes out the love and appreciation.  I swear every time I feed her, she sits up and says thank you before she burps.  Obviously she doesn't talk yet, but I swear, she looks at me and is just so grateful that I would feed her and hold her close to me.  That's all she wants in life and I am so happy to oblige!

She's been smiling for some time and she's just on the verge of a laugh.  Several times when I have been talking on the phone or visiting with a friend, I will laugh at something someone says and when I do, Eden laughs along.  It hasn't been a loud laugh, but she thinks she's in on the joke.  She is just so happy that I'm happy.  She totally wants to be a part of my club, I can feel it.  Instead of calling her sweetheart or baby girl or whatever I usually call my other babies, I refer to Eden as my little friend.  We're girlfriends.  We laugh together and hang out.  We really like each other.  She hasn't even been here for 2 months and I can't even picture my life without her.  How I love my little best friend forever.  I'm never going to let her get married or move away.  ever.