Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The one where I feel like a shitty mother


I not sleepy now...


I knew it was too good to last.

Is there some fussy-farting-limits-testing-booshity thing that happens around the 7 month mark? Because the boy and I have been going ten rounds lately and he's kicking my parental ass. I don't know if it's the teething (it looks like his bottom eye teeth are coming in. I thought the top ones came before the sides?) or some sort of developmental thing (he's starting to sit unassisted for a few seconds and crawling is immanent, although I've been saying that for weeks) or if I'm just being punished for being smug, but Will is back to non-sleeping. It started a few days ago - a little extra rocking here, another round of Lullabye there. Small stuff that was easy to dismiss. Clearly a month of cushy snoozing (five minutes of rocking and he was out until 5 am; easy breezy naps) made us soft. Now he's taking forever to settle and once he is asleep it doesn't last. The minute his head hits the mattress he flips onto his back, grabs his blankie, and shoots us a self-satisfied grin.

FOOLS!!!

That's what the grin says, I swear it. You can practically count the exclamation points in his eyes. Lather, rinse, repeat (two to four more times) and you've got yourself one pissed off mama.

I've left him to cry which sends him to Shitsville in a large, wailing basket. I've said Fuck It and gotten him up which leads to a grouchy, bleary eyed babe and a difficult day. According to the books (here we go...) he'll nap better if he sleeps longer at night and I should ignore him until 6 am. (Actually they say he should be sleeping until 6 am which makes me want to punch them in the snoot.) Seriously, there's no way: his diaper is practically deteriorating by 4:30 (the outside actually squishes, it's so full) and I defy anyone to get a baby back to sleep after an early morning wipe down.

I'm trying to convince myself that this is just a phase but there's an awful lot of You're Not The Boss Of Me happening lately, which is great developmentally but panty-twisting, mommy-wise. His new thing is refusing the bottle. Sure, the nipple is good for chewin' and have you ever just opened your mouth and let the liquid spill out all over yourself? Apparently it's awesome. Awesome enough to do over and over and over and over.

Excuse me while I take a moment.

Is this crap normal?

5 comments:

Missy said...

I would say yes. Stay consistent and I think (hope) it will iron out. I bet it is teeth/development. All babies go through the I don't wanna sleep like I did before thing. Keep up your routines and he'll get back there. Sometimes my kids would do that when they were fighting off illness too. Hard to say since the little buggers can't talk.

Missy said...

Oh yeah..you're not a crappy mother either. It is irritating as hell when kids pull this stuff.

filthEdesign said...

ultimately - it's a good thing they're so cute for the first few years! :)

just wait, he'll go through another growth spurt and he'll be sleeping easy again soon :) it will get better again...this is not some cosmic karmic response to you enjoying your sleep for a month :)

Unknown said...

I think that that age, I was changing Kaylee right before or right after her 2/3am dreamfeeding.

(Was I still dreamfeeding at that point? I thin I was. I'm SURE I was until she was on all solids.)

Anyway, you feed at whatever-insane-o'clock, change the diaper then, and they're not as saturated in the early morning? Maybe?

Kaylee also sleeps a LOT later if I keep the room a few degrees cooler than whatever it is when she gets my ass up early. She is like Daddy in this way: does not want to get up if the bed is demonstrably cozier than the room, but if her face is up, she's up verah earleh.

Unknown said...

Sorry, that should have read "if her face is warm."