As far as babies go, Brady was quite amiable for the first six months of his life (give or take a couple weeks).  He never engaged in unjustified crying, slept through the night at an early age, and greeted the world with a gummy smile. Now? I fear that I broke the baby.

It started with our trip to Michigan, which wreaked havoc on his schedule. Signs of never-before-seen crankiness appeared. I began getting up in the middle of the night to quell the fussing in the Pack N’ Play across the room. My dad and I took Brady for numerous outings, as riding in the stroller was the only thing that ensured contentment (as long as we didn’t slow our pace, even to window shop).

He amazed our relatives with his newfound sitting and rolling prowess, but also began whining for food like an insistent dog. I think this habit started with a slice of pickle I gave him to teethe on, and was reinforced with bits of baked beans and melted marshmallow slipped to him by family members on the 4th of July. I knew that I was in serious trouble when he had a five-alarm meltdown because I wouldn’t allow him to drink my pop. (It finally dawned on me to buy teething biscuits- messy, but proffering them at meal times maintains the peace. His new fancy European cow sippy cup, courtesy of Grandpa, is also of great help.)

So traveling with Brady was not a rousing success, but his bad temper was manageable because there was a constant supply of adoring people to hand him off to. I thought he would sort himself out once we returned home, but then came a fever, followed by…

Chicken pox. (Caught from Aidan, who had the vaccine and acquired a mild case that I thought might be bug bites or an allergic reaction.) Thankfully, Brady’s case of chicken pox was also fairly tame (in comparison to mine*), but it certainly did nothing to improve his mood. He is now in the recovery phase, but the past week has been a blur of toys-whinging-bottle-lullaby-nap-repeat. (Also, I feel guilty over the fact that Brady traveled on an airplane at the height of contagiousness and exposed numerous people to his germs, including my pox-free brother.)

I am mentally preparing myself for tomorrow. Brady has an appointment with the family doctor, which will undoubtedly include shots of some sort. Fun!

* Yours truly, with chicken pox: