Friday, April 18, 2008

Baby Banshee

Cora is currently going through her Banshee phase. Most of the time she is a happy, sweet, mild mannered little girl. Then it comes time to change either her clothes or her diaper and all hell breaks loose. She screams, she cries, she yells. Oddly enough she doesn't try to get away like most toddlers her age - she just lays there and gets herself into a tizzy. Since hubby is the one that gets her up and ready in the mornings, that means that each morning I usually wake not to an alarm clock but to a screaming, crying baby. Not a great way to start your day. And then each night and bedtime we have that to look forward to when getting her into her jammies.

I posted a plea for help on my local "mommies board" and got the most bizarre comments. Everything ranging from women sure she had a "sensory disorder" to possible allergies (laundry detergent or fabric softener - even though she's fine every other minute of the day) to telling me to set her boundaries and spank her when she acts out like that (ah seriously?) to women saying I should allow her to pick out her own outfit (ahhhh she's 10months - she would grab the nearest thing handy and chew on it). So I'm nowhere closer to a solution. My mom friends say its a phase, but its one that's been going on and getting worse since she was about 6 m/o. Hubby and I are just worn out with it!

And of course we have a ton of family coming into town since Coco is getting baptised this weekend - yes she is 10 m/o and just now getting baptised, much to the severe embarrassment and trauma of my hubby. He is sure everyone in the church will think we are monsters for waiting so long. Meh. Whatev. I couldn't care less about all that. The real issue for me is that she is going to wail like a banshee either when she gets "sprinkled" or when the pastor tries to walk her down the aisle to show her to the congregation. And did I mention she's already crabby cuz she's sick..... again..... Oh Lo'. Lo Lo hep me.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

So Wrong And Yet So Right

Cora has been sick again. Just an icky virus, so says the doctor, but we did keep her home from "school" yesterday just to be nice to the other families (not that anyone else at daycare ever extends the same courtesy when their kid is sick ... but I digress). I know when she is sick I'm supposed to feel super bad about it and want her to get better right away and yadda yadda yadda. And I do - kinda. The problem is that she is sooooooo cute when she's sick!

The night I knew something was wrong was Monday night. Now that Cora has her new found mobility there is no slowing her down and even when being held she doesn't want to sit or stay too still. So Monday night when she started to fuss quietly on the floor and rub at her nose, I picked her up ready to deal with the "squirmies". Instead she put her little head against my chest and laid her arms around me - she just rested like that while I walked around the house doing little chores (one-handed chores but still). It was soooooo sweet to just have that little adorable face resting on my chest listening to my heart beat. She was more than content to just hang with mommy until bedtime about 20 minutes later.

During bedtime she could barely keep her eyes open long enough to get a little Tylenol (after we had taken her temp and saw she had a fever) and finish her bottle. She curled up in my arms and nodded off to dreamland. To top it all off, Cora is a good "sick" baby - she doesn't ever get too unhappy and she sleeps well even when sick. A little Tylenol and some baby Vicks on her feet before bed and she's happy as a snoozy clam.

So while I do obviously want her to recover and get back to being able to scoot around full force... I just don't want it to happen toooooooo soon.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Welcome to Hotel Insomnia

This weekend was, in short, a nightmare. But of course to have a nightmare you actually have to sleep - so perhaps I've misspoken...

Friday hubby, Cora and I went to a small town in Iowa where hubby's cousin was getting married. This in and of itself was a mess. At one point I had told hubby that Cora and I were not going to go since the wedding was planned to be outside... in northern Iowa.... in early April. The forecast was 34 degrees and sleet. I was not going to have Cora outside in that mess. I cancelled my day off from work, told our daycare provider Cora would in fact be there on Friday and didn't worry about packing or choosing outfits for anyone. The day before the wedding (Thur) however they changed the location to be inside. So, ok, we're back on - I go back to my boss to re-claim my day off, let the daycare provider know Cora would once again NOT be there Friday, and scramble to find something Cora and I could wear to a wedding.

Cora had been to one wedding when she was just over a month old. She got so overstimulated that the night was horrid. She would twitch while sleeping and would wake every 1-2 hours screaming. I should have learned my lesson, but unless there is an act of God or Congress, hubby's family would have had a royal fit if Cora hadn't come (regardless of what she would have to go through to be there). So off we went.

We got through the wedding just fine. Then the plan was that I would go back to the hotel with Cora and put her down while hubby got to enjoy the reception. Back at the hotel everything seemed to be ok. Cora went down after a bit of trouble, but nothing highly alarming. I read a book and waited for hubby to come back to the room around 10:30. At 10:30 I got a call that hubby and his cousins were going to take a limo to a town about an hour away to pick up hubby's little brother who was just flying into town (long story, no point). Suffice it say beverages had been flowing. I was torn between being a good, dutiful wife letting hubby go be with his family (even if it meant he wouldn't get back to the hotel until 1:30am) and knowing that I would not be able to sleep until he got back since I am terrified of sleeping in a hotel alone (another long story revolving around me working on the case when I was fresh out of law school of a serial murderer who preyed on women in hotels). I softly told hubby I would like him with me, but that I would let him make the decision. He did. He went in the limo. Pissed off wife.

Hubby got home just after 1:30 and I was already tired, upset and generally fit to be tied. Just as hubby was getting into the bed, Cora woke up. No big deal , I figured... give her her paci, maybe rock her a second and we'll be ok and can finally get some sleep. Hubby, knowing he was up *%&$ creek went to get her. That was the last time her head hit her mattress. She was up the remainder of the night. The whole night. If one of us would try and put her down, she would scream. If we stopped moving (walking, rocking, etc) she would scream. I tried and tried until 4:00am to coax her back to sleep every way I could think of to no avail. Finally at ten after four, hubby just took her and said he would walk the halls with her. (There is no "crying it out" in a hotel mind you) I got some sleep until 6:20 when he came back in with her, totally exhausted. He had been walking the hall or sitting in the lobby the whole time.

At that point I decided it was time to go home. Period, paragraph. No matter how rude it seemed, no matter how angry his family would be. Hubby had been up for 24 hours straight now, and I had gotten 2 hours sleep. We had a two-hour drive ahead of us, and a sleep deprived child. We were going home. And go we did.

Yesterday was like walking through a fog. We took turns watching Cora (who ironically seemed totally fine and quite happy) and sleeping. We went to bed for the night at 9:30 since - thank the Lord - Cora went down without a peep. Hopefully today will bring better things now that all of us are back in familiar surroundings and rested. And trust me, no more trips anytime soon!