Posts Tagged ‘cuddles’

A Sick Baby

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

We have been pretty lucky with Maddox and illnesses so far. Looking back, he was never really sick beyond a minor cold once, and a temperature that went away after a day.

That changed on Thursday when we picked up Maddox early from daycare with a temperature of 101. Nothing dangerous, but enough to have him stay at home. We expected the temperature to disappear after 24 hours like it did in the past, but instead it lasted all the way until Tuesday morning. Long enough that the doctor actually wanted to see him in the office to do some basic tests. One more day and they would have done a blood test!

Sad Baby is Sad

It was tough to see Mads be so unlike himself. I worked from home on Monday, and at one point early in the morning he pulled out his favorite book, sat in a corner, and just stared at it for almost five minutes straight. When we put him down at night, he would actually lie on his back in his crib and listen as we read to him, something he hasn’t done since he learned how to stand up! He was also extremely clingy (which admittedly was kind of nice). The worst part was his cough, because every time he would cough he would cry after, and you wish you could explain to him what was going on.

Yesterday, all his symptoms seemed nearly gone, but he was pretty much inconsolable all morning and wouldn’t stop crying, so Leanne stayed at home to watch him. And he napped for nearly six hours! So we’re thinking that all this sickness led to a lack of sleep, which led to a rather grumpy mood.

This morning though, he seemed nearly his same self, except for a new penchant for throwing anything he could get his hands on. But even mischievous behavior like that is welcome after the past six days! He even was feeling up to dancing last night, which at this point for him means moving his legs around really quickly and occasionally waving his hands.

Put That Baby Down!

Monday, June 29th, 2009

I am so sleep deprived that I just wrote a thank you note, sealed it, and now I have no idea what it says. I am going to send it anyway and just hope for the best.

The good thing about being this tired is that it’s helping me to let Maddox sit on his own more. Usually, I like to just hold him as much as possible, which is great for cuddles but unfortunate when it comes to getting anything done.

Today, I put Mads in his swing, then into his Pack ‘n Play, I fed him, then put him back into the swing. I tried taping red cards to the side of the swing, with the hopes that they would entertain him for those extra couple of minutes needed before the motion of the swing lulls him to sleep. (Red is one of the colors babies like, because the high contrast makes it easier to see.)

I miss the cuddling, but there’s just too much to do today. He’s perfectly happy, so long as when he IS upset, I’m there. And, since I’m going to have to learn how to spend whole work days away from him, not holding him 24/7 is probably a good first step.

The next one is probably letting him sleep in his crib, in the nursery. My argument is that it’s illogical to place him farther away, because I’ll have to get up and go into another room to feed and change him, which is much more disruptive. Jon and Maddox both see through my clever ruse though – I just want Mads within snuggle distance.

For me, being a mom has been about training myself to relax. Relax about that coughing – you would cough too if you’d just inhaled 3 oz of milk. Relax about letting him sleep in his swing – it’s sturdy, and you don’t have to hold him all of the time. Relax about feeding him – there’s tons of milk, and he’ll eat formula, shirts, arms, pretty much anything you put in front of his mouth. And that diaper? Although it’s best to keep it fresh, a little poo will not cause lasting damage.

All in all, he is worth every moment of worry, and sleep deprivation is why New England has so freakin’ many Dunkin Donuts.

Why Am I Not In Your Arms?

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Maddox has this new thing where he likes to be picked up and held… all of the time. This means nights are no longer sacred, the Pack n Play is just not an interesting place right now, and Mom and Dad get a little bit less done because their arms are occupied with baby.

Here’s how it goes: he falls asleep, we put him down, he wakes up a few moments later and realizes he’s not being held anymore. So he starts to cry pathetically until someone comes to reassure him that he’s not all alone in the universe.

As a result, today Mads is strapped to Mom in his sling, and Mom is trying to use her computer around him. It’s okay, but I kind of wish my arms were longer. Possibly, it’s time to invest in a laptop stand like Jon’s.

sling

In any case, we’re going to have to move Mads to his crib at night. He constantly talks to himself in his bassinet, which is difficult to sleep through. It’s going to be tough on Mom – I have spasms of anxiety because I miss him if he’s not in the same room – but getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep will make it easier to enjoy the new 45 minute nighttime feeding sessions. (He used to feed for about 15 minutes each time, but he’s hungrier now).

Mads is changing so much each day – new habits, new expressions and new sounds. Hopefully, he’ll acquire the useful habit of sleeping at night soon.

Jon and I have discussed how it’s impossible to be mad at him, even after being up half the night, because once you pick him up he’s just so little and adorable that you can’t be upset anymore. I suspect this is a built-in baby defense-mechanism, and find human genetic programming very clever in that respect. Well played, Mother Nature. Well played.