61. The Soothing Chin

They gave him a bath while I was out on the porch, and I missed it. The only way they could get him to stop crying was for Diana to put her chin in his mouth. He's eating now, relieved, but still fussing at the memory of the indignity of his crying.

I took care of William while Diana, Paquita, Alex and Virginia went to the Madonna concert. He sucked down the bottle of breast milk. Towards the end he wiggles quite a lot. He gives good burps and farts, and the pressure is relieved.

Jimmy wanted to help out, and walked William into a nap. He napped for 30 minutes and woke up. I held him for a while, and then Jimmy took him again. I almost wanted to take him back, but I realized, I'm there for the long haul, and I need to let other people get attached to him. Taking care of him really gets me attached to him. I like getting to know his rhythms.

He fell asleep when his mother came home, he was relieved to see her, or so I imagined. He got up at 4:30 and again later. I woke up and they were in Virginia's room. I took care of him for a while, until I smelled coffee that Paquita made, and went downstairs. She insisted on holding him, so I went out and read on the porch. I'm reading an exquisite novel, Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard. Paul is coming out today, and I'm looking forward to the visit.