Defeated?

In the right corner, standing at 28 inches, weighing in at fifteen pounds, defending champion of the sleepless night, Michelle Martin (crowd screams....Ahhhhhhh)! In the left corner, standing at 5 feet 5 inches, weighing in at 132 pounds, attempting a major upset, exhausted yet determined mommy, Kelly Martin (no cheers, booooo, hissss).

And the battle begins. Seven P.M. Time for bed. Michelle, showing signs of sleepiness, Kelly taking advantage of the situation, with a left hook and Michelle goes down in the crib! Kelly may have the upper hand...very little crankiness showing from Michelle...could be safe to leave the room...and Kelly quietly leaves the room...tiptoeing out...BUT NO! Michelle, not going out without a fight, screaming starts. And Kelly answers with the method that has worked for the past 4 nights, a method called pick-up-put-down. Clearly, Michelle is starting to wear Kelly down. The screaming not stopping even when picked up. Will Michelle win? Not giving up the method, Kelly keeps at it! And finally, 1 hour later, it appears Kelly has succeed! It looks like Michelle is down for the count! Looks like calm and perseverance has paid off. BUT NO! 8:45, screaming again, Michelle makes her move with wail. Kelly reverts to the pick-up-put-down. There is no consoling this time, Michelle's fight coming back, not backing down. 10:00, it appears Michelle is tiring, Kelly holding strong, and Michelle is down for the count!

Okay, you get the idea...fast forward waking up at midnight, nursing her and attempting to put her back to sleep for the next 2 hours. That's right, 2 hours of pick-up-put-down, wondering is it teething? Is it gas? Why can't I read THIS cry? It doesn't sound like the cry of "I just don't want to be in my crib", it sounds like the cry of "I am uncomfortable and YOU need to fix it momma! NOW!!!" She's had Tylenol, gripe water, pacifier, diaper change, booby, and I am at a loss.

...and the battle is on! Neither one of them willing to give it up. Michelle is not giving up the ghost and Kelly is determined to put this baby DOWN in her crib. But now, Io is pacing. That's right, the dog is getting worried. Barry gets up and leaves the room! Is he coming back? It appears Barry has retreated to the guest room. Will Kelly succeed with the disintegration of the support team? It looks like Kelly's frustration is reaching a boiling point. Michelle, with a right and a left, POW POW and are we there? Could it be? And it appears MICHELLE HAS WON! Kelly, worn down to the final thread, COLLAPSES! In bed. Michelle in arms. Michelle at the boob. Michelle quiet. Michelle sleeping. But what is this? Barry returns to bed! What we thought was a retreat was merely a bathroom break! And what will this mean for Kelly's dwindling stamina? Barry, reaching around, cuddles Kelly in the spoon position. Kelly in tears over the hard fought battle. Barry whispers in Kelly's ear "You did your best. I would not have lasted anywhere near as long as you did." Kelly responds "How could I have had it so wrong? Every night got better this week until tonight. I feel so defeated." Barry whispers back "You are doing a wonderful job mommy. I love you." And everyone sleeps. Together in bed. Goodnight.

Squeals of Delight

Solid Food, Stinky Poop!

We are definitely getting the solids down. Michelle's tongue thrust reflex is pretty much absent though clearly that doesn't make for a cleaner eating experience. we tried some apples yesterday and she went ape shit over them. Our pediatrician actually recommends rice and veggies mostly at first so that they don't develop a "sweet tooth" early on. So as I sliced some avocado for my egg sandwich this morning, I mashed a little avocado for her. What better power food? High in fiber, rich in omega-3 fatty acids...she liked it! I think the texture was a little odd but she kept diving into the spoon for more. I have a feeling we are not going to have a finicky eater on our hands. Now a word about poop. Over the last couple weeks since introducing rice cereal, I have watched her poop transform from a benign sweet smelling, swirls of yellow, yogurt-like to something comletely ungodly. I noticed a change right away in the smell, but what I thought was bad 2 weeks ago had nothing on what she produced yesterday! As you recall, she is only pooping once every 5 days (which is NORMAL for breastfed babies) and yesterday was the day. In the five days since previous poop, her little body went from making "poopies" to making "shit". Dark brown, nasty smelling, full on scary-ass shit! Apparently the fact that her diet is still 95% breast milk is no buffer for what rice cereal and apples can do to the bowels. How can something so cute and sweet produce THAT??? The days of cute poopies are over.

And a little update on the sleep situation. I am holding strong. Two nights now of 1-2 sleep increments but she has slept in her crib. I am exhausted, but also know that this exercise in setting limits is as good for me as a parent as it is for improving her sleep situation in the long run. She slept for 4 hours initially when she went down, but after the first waking, it was every 1-2 hours after that. Finally at 4:00, I think she was just totally exhausted and slept until 7:00, a wake-up time I prefer to yesterday's "I am wide awake at 5:30, let's get this party going" routine. Two nights down. I am not broken yet.