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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Gabi And The Ferocious Hugs

I spent most of this weekend trying not to get hugged to death. It's been an ongoing thing lately, but the last two days? Wow.

Gabi has some strong little arms, and her desire to show us just how much she loves us by squeezing as hard as she can with her arms wrapped tightly around our necks is causing some serious shortness of breath.

Gilberto is strong and can take it, but I'm wimpy and fragile. Bless Gabi's heart, but she's squeezing the life out of me one hug at a time.

It's not just a tight little squeeze. It's a tight PAINFUL squeeze that realigns my jaw and leaves bruises on my arms. Not to mention how sore I get from tensing all of my muscles in an attempt to minimize the damage.

The hugs come all day long. At any given moment. It's like I have to be constantly on the lookout for arms flung wide in pre-hug motion. It's not good when these hugs take you by surprise!

And, oh man, the hug offs! Which, if I remember correctly, her daddy so unfairly started. Gabi loves to have hug offs ALL THE TIME. She'll squeeze me as tight as she can, and then demand that I squeeze HER as tight as I can. Let's just say it takes a bit of practice to figure out how to squeeze tight but not too tight. My first attempt didn't go so well. I stopped when she started yelping.

Hmmm. Maybe I should start yelping?

The thing is, I don't want to discourage her from showing us affection. I've tried to get her to tone it down a bit (I wasn't lying about the bruises), but she just can't help herself. She just loves us that much. And that is pretty amazing. I never thought I'd be loved back like that. So I grin and bear it.

Because what mom ever says no to a hug from her child? Even if it's too tight? Despite the pain, each hug warms my heart.

And despite her alarming increase in strength this weekend (I'm pretty sure she didn't eat any spinach, so I'm not sure where it came from), I'll keep letting her, encouraging her, to keep squeezing.

No, no yelping from me.

In the meantime, Advil? And some hope that my ribs do their job in protecting my lungs from four year old external forces.

44 comments:

  1. Hi, i'm visiting from BAtW! Since there was no spinach involved, is it possible your daughter is a superhero in training? LOL

    Love the blog! :)

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  2. Visiting from BATW. I agree with the above poster.. maybe a super hero in training or maybe she thinks the harder I squeeze the more they know I love them :)

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  3. enjoy, i have an almost four year old who thinks he is too big to hold my hand.

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  4. Hey, You're the BATW stopover! Save this story for when she's 14!

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  5. Visiting from BATW.

    I just love hugs! You'll have to grin and bear it...

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  6. SURPRISE! So, she's the Popeye of Hugs? BAHAHAHAHAHA What a cutie. Geesh, we moms have to suffer don't we? Plus, 4 year olds have SO much energy, don't they? I wish I could bottle that:)

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  7. I have just reminded my kids that while daddy loves the wild guy hugging, which is great that mommy enjoys a more gentle hug.
    And I show them that the gentle hugs come with a sweet long cuddle and a sigh of contentment.
    That should leave her coming back for more don't you think?
    How the bruises leave in time for bikini season!

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  8. Surprise...you are the layover from BATW! Have a good one.

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  9. Suggest she give you 'butterfly kisses' instead...(where you put your eyelashes together, barely touching and flutter them at each other)

    OR, suggest you play princess and hug like they do....light grasp with lots of gentle back pats. Depending on how old she is, you may want to role play with a tea party or something to get the mindset going.

    Rave over how wonderful the new hugs are and then call them something special...'princess hugs, mommy hugs, whatever'.

    Good luck, hope you avoid the chiropractor!

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  10. Oh that's funny--her love is STRONG :)

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  11. Here from BATW. Congrautlations on being featured! I love your blog!

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  12. Haha, what a lovely layover! Strong hugs are the bestest!!

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  13. LOL Maybe try telling her that she's giving you BIG MAMA bear hugs and that you would really love a teeny tiny baby bear hug...or something to that effect. I know where you're coming from though - the last thing you want to do is tell them just to keep their little paws off you but at the same time you're screaming STOP TOUCHING ME! :)

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  14. i have the same problem with the 9 year old i take care of. sometimes she actually lifts me off the ground! I HATE IT. LOL, but she's not my own kid... i don't know if i would feel differently if she was. But i outright express my feelings of extreme pain and discomfort. unfortunately in this case it is not a deterrent. i tense almost every muscle in my body when i see her coming, but it still doesn't do any good!

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  15. Debbie sent me--and she said to give you a bone-crushing hug. So here ya go: HUG!!!!!

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  16. Congratulations on your BATW feature. I hope you enjoy your day in the sun:-)

    Good luck with the bear hugs. I hope someone has an answer for you. I like the "tiny bear hug" advice:-)

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  17. Surprise!! Love the name.

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  18. My daughter is just learning how to hug and it is the most wonderful thing in the world to have her little arms around my neck. So far she has been fairly gently. She does have inhumanly strong hands, though. When she gets a hold of you, look out. There have been bruises and scratches galore.

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  19. Well at least you know she's a tough cookie!
    My little guy is a hug fanatic too...his hugs are not quite as painful but he's a fanatic none the less and I call him my "Squishy"..... cause that's what he does.... he squishes me and I love it!

    Carrie, dropping by from BATW
    www.gigglesgrinsandgrades.blogspot.com

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  20. It's nic to finally put a face into your words! :)

    I think you can tell her that she can hug as much as she want, but try to to be a little more less painfull in her hugs! Not to squeeze to hurt!

    Have a good week!

    hugs!

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  21. Just visiting from BATW. Hope you have a great day with lots of comment ((hugs)) as well! At least they don´t hurt.... :)

    I like the new name!

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  22. Coming here on our surprise BATW layover. It's wonderful to be loved, isn't it?

    Oh, and I like your new name!

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  23. Ok...I just left a long comment and now it's gone. *sigh* here i go again :)

    What in the world is BATW??

    Gabi's hugging is super cute :) Though bone crushing it is a sweet thing to want to do! It reminds me of when I was little! Grandpa would call me a monkey because I would stand on his feet (he was well over 6') and just hug the daylights outta him. And then I wouldn't let go. So he would walk around and make a sandwich with me still attached to him. I loved it and though he never said much, he did too :) I miss him!

    I hope the bruising eases up soon, but the hugging continues!!

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  24. Surprise! Coming via BATW this morning! I love the idea of princess hugs or just a unique to the two of you hug! Loving hugs and hugging myself, I sure miss them. Even the grandangels are slowing down with their hugs - growing up you know!

    Love your new name! Great choice!

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  25. Surprise from Blog Around The World (BATW)!!! Love the new name, first of all. Second, I have a child who is soooo affectionate. It's his "love language". But when he was about 3-4 yrs old, he didn't understand that his "running-to-ge-a-jump-start-hugs" were actually hurting me. So, I explained to him that mommy is "old" and needs "soft mommy hugs" and that those were my favorites! He asked me how old I was. I told him 28 (this was 6 yrs ago). He replied, "Wow! That IS old!" hahaha! the hugs weren't ALWAYS soft after that, but they weren't always bone crushing either. And we started calling it "snuggle time". It was really cute. Good Luck!

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  26. Ha! Hope your weekend was awesome!

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  27. Hope she loosens her grip just a little. She's a sweetheart though. ;)

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  28. honey what am i missing?? BATW??

    as for the hugging - i say pop the advil bc when when our little girls are teenagers we will be in desperate need of one of their baby hugs!!

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  29. Bardolf did this for a while, fortunately he has learned to hug moe gently. Take it while it lasts and hang in there! lol!

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  30. Hello from Louisiana and BATW. I love your blog! And that's too cute, sweet little hugs... even if they paralyze you.

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  31. Surprise! Oh wait, you mean the 32 people ahead of me gave away the surprise?

    Well, shucks. ;)

    I think your new blog name suits you! Good for you for embracing this. You've been so good natured, I would have thrown a fit any 2 yr old would be flabbergasted by.

    Ha!

    *waves from IA which is supposed to get SNOW today*

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  32. Oh! That's too sweet! Maybe you should think about layering! LOL

    My little on is the same way with kisses. He likes to grab my face on both sides and squeeze my lips to his. This weekend, he went a little too far and bit me! Ouch!

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  33. Though it is painful, it really is sweet that she is in such a loving phase.
    Remember, one day soon she may not want you to even glance in her direction because she will be an adolescent and will be embarrassed by all parental contact.

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  34. LOL - I get them when I'm sitting down and she comes and wraps her arms around my neck and starts squeezing... and pulling up... one dyay I fear my head will just pop right off.

    Visiting frm BATW by the way... and Love Me some San Diego - we lived there for a while and Grandma & Grandpa are still there.

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  35. Enjoy them while you can. Soon she'll be "too cool" to be hugging her mommy. Or so I've heard.

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  36. Those sound like some pretty darn powerful hugs - and so true - there really is nothing in the world like them!! Glad to hear your getting hugged to death :-)

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  37. I'm lost, but I'm here :(

    Braja
    http://lostandfoundinindia.blogspot.com

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  38. I love the idea of princess hugs, but I must admit that I kind of miss the bone-crushers from my little one, who is now not so little!

    Conrats on BATW!

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  39. Awww, how sweet! I get a lot of hugs but nothing like what you're describing - ahh the innocence of youth!

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  40. I'm told it doesn't last, but both of mine are currently in hugging mode, and despite the pain I love every minute. My rule? Never say No. Love the blog. Louise in Italy.

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  41. You're making me thankful Troy's only two and thus, not quite so strong--we have frequent hug offs and I'm not sure I'm ready for all that strength!

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  42. She's a little heart, isn't she.

    I understand where you are coming from, though. Judah's favorite thing to do is the run, hug and knock you on your booty kind of embrace. I can't say as I have the best balance in the world - actually it's downright terrible - so I always end up plastered on the ground. It's lovely. But, I do love to see the silly grin on his face when it's all over :)

    Take every hug for what it is, I've heard this time is fleeting. (though sometimes I doubt it ;) )

    -Andrea

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