Turning a Corner

It appears that we may have turned a major corner.

Tonight marked the first time since Baby Kate was born that Devoted Wife has had an entire evening away without child. Devoted Wife had a night out with some girlfriends (no clubbing for this group, I think they honestly baked bread!) and Kate and I stayed home and watched my Utah Jazz slip past the Houston Rockets to take a commanding lead in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The amazing thing is that in the nearly seven months that Kate has been alive, tonight was the first time I've been able to get her to take an entire bottle. Devoted Wife mentioned that Kate had done it the other day, and so tonight I agreed to go it alone with Kate, without backup. I've tried before to let Devoted Wife get away and have some fun, but once Kate got hungry, refused her bottle and started crying at a volume level I thought could be achieved only by aircraft engines and Formula One racing cars, I've had to call Devoted Wife's cell phone and announce that Baby wanted her mama and that mama needed to make haste back toward my general direction.

But not tonight. At about 6:00 I gave Kate her preferred concoction of baby oatmeal, baby formula and pear baby food as Devoted Wife slipped out the front door. Kate gobbled up the pear-oatmeal like it was her last meal on earth. Later, at halftime, I made a bottle and popped it into her mouth. She not only drained the bottle but held it with her own hands. By the time Devoted Wife walked through the door at around 10:00, Kate was fast asleep in her crib with a contented smile on her face.

If this continues, a whole new vista will open up for Devoted Wife and me, as this means that KATE CAN NOW STAY WITH A BABYSITTER! Of course, our list of permissible sitters is probably pretty short and basically consists of Devoted Wife's mother and two college age sisters, both of whom have worked as nannies for the past 6-8 years. However, if it means that we can start looking forward to the occasional evening out again, I think we might start getting more comfortable expanding this list.

Anyway, we're very excited about the possibilities that await us.