Sleep Wars II: Mommy Strikes Back

Cutie Pie usually wakes up happy. He lays in his bed cooing and playing with his feet until I come in and get him up. The morning after the Ferber experiment was horrible. He woke up screaming. He was agitated all morning. My Mommy guilt was unbearable. He seemed to be angry with me for letting him cry. The book promised that my child would "be happy to see [me] the next morning." The book was wrong.

I am always worried about doing things right for Cutie Pie. I use my baby books like assembly instructions. OK, if I just do this and then that, everything will turn out perfectly. But now I'm starting to question their authority. Just who is this Ferber guy and why does he hate babies so much?

Cutie Pie was back to his old self by yesterday afternoon. I put him to bed using the same old routine I always use. Only last night, Cutie Pie was sleepy. The dogs didn't bark. Everything went smoothly and Cutie Pie slept over 12 hours straight. I actually got to take a shower AND brush my teeth in the morning!

Take that, Ferber!

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Real Toys

When I walk into my house, I am always amazed by its resemblance to a toy store. I used to walk across the room with ease. I decorated with baubles and trinkets from our travels. When one of the dogs played with a squeaky toy it was no big deal. We just kicked it to the corner of the room.

My once pristine living room is now cluttered with playthings. I never thought I would be one of those parents who turned the living room into a child's playroom but it's just so much easier to keep his toys out there. The living room is where the family socializes and spends time together. If we kept the toys hidden in Cutie Pie's room he would never get to play with them.

Cutie Pie has amassed quite a collection in his short six months. We have the Baby Gym on the floor right in the middle of the room. This little gym has provided Cutie Pie with hours of visually stimulating fun. When Cutie Pie began rolling over we bought a foam mat so he can play all he wants without ever having to touch the carpet. We've got teething toys, balls, stacking cups, books, a mini piano, toys that light up and toys that make noise. We even have the dog's toys, which we are constantly having to remove from the baby mat so they don't accidentally touch our precious Cutie Pie. However, my son wants nothing to do with any of his toys. All he wants to do today is play with the old tissue paper left over from Mother's Day.

It reminds me of when I was a kid. We used to turn old wrapping paper tubes into telescopes and microphones. We would make forts and turn sticks and leaves into a gourmet meal, fit to serve a princess. Cutie Pie isn't exactly using his imagination when crumbling up the tissue paper, but he sure is loving it!

I am sure that there are more toys out there that Cutie Pie is missing out on. I've had friends tell me that we need to get him a walker. We should also look at a jumperoo. He needs a baby lounge chair so he has a place to sit. If he doesn't watch Baby Einstein every day then he won't be as smart as his classmates and he'll never get into a good college. OK, I made the last one up. I want my son to have everything but I'm not quite sure where we need to draw the line. After all, he is only six months old. Surely we are depriving Cutie Pie because we have delayed our next run to the toy store. Poor Cutie Pie will just have to make due with that tissue paper.

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Butterfly Effect

There's a reason they say "Let sleeping babes lie." Everyone knows that it is bad luck to wake a baby. When I picked Cutie Pie up from school today, he was passed out cold in his bed. I told his Teacher I had a dreadful feeling about waking him and boy was I right. He has not slept at all since.

He woke up immediately when I picked him up. By the time we got to the car, his eyes were wide open and he was ready to party. He could not be convinced to play by himself when he got home so I got to practice the art of multitasking by holding him with one hand while cooking, doing dishes and eating my own dinner. Although inconvenient, it's a great workout. My arms have never looked so nice.

Then as if to make matters worse, I interrupted Cutie Pie's evening routine so he could spend a little time with his Dad before he went to bed. Each night Cutie Pie gets his dinner of some pureed vegetable that he will probably never eat again once he is done with baby food. Then he takes his bath. Tonight he learned to splash the water and I never thought I would get him out of that bathtub. He had a blast! He didn't even care when he would splash the water so hard it would get in his eyes. After his bath, Cutie Pie gets dressed for bed. Then he usually says good night to Daddy and the doggies then nurses to sleep while Mommy reads him a story and says prayers. But tonight Daddy was running late so I let Cutie Pie play in his pajamas until he got home. Sounds like no big deal right?

It's like the butterfly effect. Who knew that two small interruptions in his day, could cause so much chaos for Cutie Pie? He has woken up every twenty minutes since I put him down. I think he's dreaming about splashing in the bath because he seems to be trying to splash his sheets. I wonder if they make water beds for babies? I have absolutely no chance of getting any sleep tonight so I might as well surrender now.

Schedule and routine has always been important to my Cutie Pie. Right from the beginning, I noticed that he became agitated when we kept him out late. Those darn baby books I'm always talking about say it's OK to deviate from the schedule every now and then but make sure you follow it most of the time. The baby will be happier following the schedule. It's important that the child know what to expect.

What lesson has Cutie Pie taught me from this experience? Make sure I always bring home a few files from work so I have something to do if I have to stay up all night.

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Baby's Got Bite

He's not even six months old and Cutie Pie is already wrestling alligators. Cutie Pie is a tough baby. About a month ago, he invented a game where he grabs your arm while you are doing your best to change his diaper and bites your elbow like a shark with his cute little gummy mouth. But, now that Cutie Pie is getting a tooth, I don't think I'll still have my "Aw, so cute" reaction.

Yep, you heard me. Cutie Pie is getting a tooth. It started poking through yesterday, leading to all sorts of unhappiness. Mr. Crankypants has moved in and taken over my usually mild-manned Cutie Pie. I feel so bad for him, but when he takes pictures this funny it's hard not to laugh.

Each time Cutie Pie reaches a childhood milestone, I am filled with pride but also fear. OK, mostly fear. So he's teething, now what? I think his gums are hurting. Does he need a teething ring? Is that the one I saw the dog pick up yesterday? Should I give him some of that Orajel stuff? Should you give babies that stuff before they eat? It says to give them a pea-sized amount but just how big is a pea? The gel didn't come out in pea form. How big is a smashed pea? What would happen if I gave him too much?

Now that he has a tooth, the books say that I'm supposed to brush it. I have a friend who had to take out a loan to cap her four year old's teeth so I am willing to do whatever I must do to insure Cutie Pie has good dental hygiene. I guess I'm going to be making another trip to the store this week to buy a toothbrush for a six month old. I can't get him to open his mouth to put teething medicine in there, what makes me think I'm going to get a toothbrush in his mouth? Maybe if I put sweet potatoes on the brush I can trick him into thinking I got him a new spoon. I think I read that you can wipe the baby's teeth with a cloth. What? He won't even let me wipe his nose!

The problem is that Cutie Pie is still a baby and falls asleep nursing. How am I going to brush his teeth after he eats if he falls asleep? The books say that brushing before bedtime is critical. Surely, Cutie Pie will have a mouth full of cavities if I let him fall asleep nursing. One book I read says he shouldn't nurse to fall asleep anymore, six months is too big for this babyish habit. Another book said that when he is weaned the bed time feeding should stop last. What am I supposed to do? Is there any way I can brush his teeth while he is sleeping? Perhaps I should let Cutie Pie gnaw on the books next time.

BTW- let me know if you can think of a better caption for the picture than "baby's got bite."

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