Taking It To A Whole New Level

I am taking this motherhood thing to a whole new level... of exhaustion. Cutie Pie hasn't slept through the night in two weeks. Every night while I stumble around in the dark with my wiggly little nine month old, I reach for that silver lining and think about how grateful I am for the opportunity to spend extra time with my Cutie Pie.

I used to be one of those people who needed nine hours of sleep each night to function. Heaven help the person who kept me from my sleep! When I'm tired, I fall behind on my work and the Neverending To-Do List spirals out of control. For the past week, in between midnight visits from Mr. Crankypants, I have been in grown-up-time-out in front of my desk full of paperwork.

It's amazing though. No matter how much sleep I lose, when Cutie Pie wakes up in the morning, I am right there with him. Somehow I manage to find this amazing mothering energy that keeps me up and moving all day. My husband says there must be some sort of caffeinated Mom Hormone that is released when I see Cutie Pie that allows me to chase my wild, crawling little Cutie Pie despite a lack of sleep. I don't know where I find the energy, but I'm glad to have it. Heaven help ME if I were to doze off, leaving him unsupervised.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Not so fast, Mommy!

Every now and then I feel a glimmer of hope that I just might be OK at this whole Mom thing. Just when I start to gain a little confidence and walk a little straighter, Cutie Pie says "Not so fast, Mommy!" BAM! He reminds me who is really in charge of our household.

This morning, Cutie Pie woke up earlier than usual. No worries. That just gave me more time to spend with him before school. He played while I got ready for work and I enjoyed playing peek a boo in between brushing my teeth and looking for my shoes. It was so easy, I felt like I had conquered motherhood.

In my blissfully confident state, I left Cutie Pie to play with his toys in the living room while I quickly ran to the other room to pack my files into my bag. I heard some banging but I figured he was just playing with his favorite stacking toys again. I walked back into the living room after leaving him alone for maybe thirty seconds. In that short time, he had made a bee-line for the dog bowls. In my unrealistic and downright cocky state, I had neglected to remove them from reach. Cutie Pie had poured water all over the kitchen and was in the process of sprinkling dog food into the puddle he had created. I grabbed the broom and swept up the soggy dog food while Cutie Pie splashed on the kitchen floor. When he saw me pick up the food in the dust pan, he cried like I had ruined his day.

Cutie Pie became Mr. Crankypants when I changed him into dry clothes and I realized that my early riser was already in need of a nap. He fell asleep five minutes before it was time to walk out the door. I decided it was better to be a little late than to awaken the Master of the House so I let him rest for a bit while I enjoyed the great luxury of packing the car in peace.

Just when I thought I was getting control over my life again, Cutie Pie let me know who's boss.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

Cutie Pie is Back!

What a long week it has been! Last Thursday I went to pick up Cutie Pie from school and I heard two of the most horrifying words I have ever heard: Pink-eye. Cutie Pie had been exposed! Now at face value these words don't seem alarming. Pink is a pretty color. Eyes aren't scary. But I soon found out just how terrifying these words can be.

The next morning, I took my puffy, crusty-eyed baby to the doctor. Cutie Pie put on his usual show of flirting with the nurses and trying to snatch the stethoscope out of the doctor's ears. We were given a prescription for fancy eye drops and sent home with instructions to lay low until the illness passed.

Unfortunately for me, Cutie Pie's Daddy was out of town so I had to entertain a mobile seven month old by myself all weekend. Cutie Pie didn't like the eye drops. He cried like his world had ended each time he saw the drops come close to his face. No toy or song could distract him from that medicine bottle. Not even Old McDonald!

When Cutie Pie doesn't feel good, Cutie Pie doesn't sleep. My little boy becomes his alter ego, Mr. Crankypants. He stays up all night, loudly protesting everything Mommy tries to make him happy. No toys! No swing! No blanky! Poor Cutie Pie. Poor Mommy!

Cutie Pie got restless spending all that time at home with no one but a tired Mommy to play with. He grew bored of chasing the dogs and began working on his pulling up skills. He mastered the coffee table and the couch but the dining table is still a little tricky. He fell a few times and earned some new bumps and bruises.

Somehow we made it through the weekend. I was so excited to get back into our routine on Monday. I got all dressed up in grown up clothes and was walking out the door when Cutie Pie threw up all over both of us. Here we go again.

Cutie Pie went back to the doctor. He had a sore throat that caused him to cough each time something touches his throat, including drool and food. So he pretty much coughed all day and night. And when he coughed too hard, he threw up.

So my staycation continued with Cutie Pie. In between baths, I got a crash course in Pedialyte. I discovered that the clear stuff is way better than the flavored stuff. Why would you give a baby, who is already throwing up, a liquid with dye in it? That is just asking for trouble. As if it's not bad enough that you're going to have to do a million loads of laundry, you've got to scrub colorful dye out of all the bibs too!

Thank goodness for Cutie Pie's Grandma. She took pity on us and came to help out today. She spent the day with my coughing, grumpy Cutie Pie so I could take a break and go to the office. She must have the magic touch because he is feeling much better tonight and is actually sleeping! It's been a long week but Cutie Pie is back!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/