A bit of sleep training

Call me crazy. Call me mean. Tell me that I am creating a tiny psychopath and am a bad mother, but I will tell you something, I am now a well rested bad mother. Here is what our bedtime ritual used to look like.

5pm Fussing because it is too early for dinner and too late for nap
5:30pm I am about to go crazy waiting for CT to get home so I can make dinner
6pm Rushing through making dinner so we can feed the boy
6:30pm Giving up on making and eating dinner because baby is so fussy
7pm Nursing baby to "sleep"
7:30pm Tries to lay the baby down, he wakes up screaming as I leave the room
7:45pm Walking the baby around the room while he screams
8pm Give the baby to CT who walks the baby around the room while he screams
8:30pm Baby nurses some more
9pm Lays the baby down once more, this time without breathing
10:30pm Baby wakes screaming, sleeps with us nursing all night long

As you can see, this schedule is enough to drive anyone crazy, and without even realizing it, the baby was miserable and crying through most of it. Our need to be the perfect attachment parents drove us to try to put a crying baby to sleep by letting him cry, albeit in our arms.

So, during quite a difficult morning that was preceeded by several difficult days, a very stinky and very tired mommy decided that there are two choices here. Either put the baby down and let him cry while I take a shower (5 minutes TOPS - I shower like a man) or I will break that #1 rule and shake that baby until he stops. The choice was clear.

By the time I finished my sprint shower, there was nothing. No crying, no sobbing, no screaming. The baby was asleep. ASLEEP! 2 hours later when he woke up, I loved him again. Breakthrough! A few days later we decided to try it with night-time. He cried for three minutes, and then, sleep until 2am. Now our routine looks like this:

6pm Dinner is served, baby eats whether it is something we are eating or just cheerios
6:30pm Bathtime followed by nakey time
7pm Nursing to sleep
7:30pm Lay baby down in the crib he fusses
7:31pm I hardly get downstairs by the time he is asleep
1am Baby wakes, nursed to sleep and back in bed
7am Wake up refreshed and happy!!

So what is worse, having a baby scream in your arms for two hours or cry in a crib for 5 minutes?

Impossible!!

Moms aren't supposed to get sick. Mine never did. I always wondered whether mom's had a super duper immune system like doctors cause they never complain or get sick, they just keep going and feeding and cleaning. Well, I must be a bad mom cause I am officially sick. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband, and Oliver has a wonderful father who is staying home to take care of both of us. This is a good thing because every time I move I feel like I am going to hurl.

So, I leave you with a video of Oliver being uncooperative. In this video, he sounds like I feel. I will be back when I can keep something down. Have a good Monday!

Just in time!

CT got home at 9pm last night from his big important business trip. Oliver started puking his guts out at 11pm. Awwww, was waiting for daddy! This is our first bout with sickness, and it SUCKS. The poor little guy wakes up, demands to nurse and then about 5 minutes later is writhing in agony, then he choke/gag/pukes all over the floor. I then rock him in the glider (who has never seen such action before) until he falls back to sleep. This cycle repeats every hour or so. Linda Blair has nothing on this kid. I have never seen him so unhappy.

No fever or diarrhea, so it isn't looking like Rotavirus, and I am nauseous too, so I guess it could have been something we ate and it is just affecting him more. I will be calling the doctor this morning, who will of course suggest the sugar water called, Pedialyte. No thanks, I would rather feed him the medicine my body makes specifically for the sickness he has, but thanks for the suggestion. I have to chart pee diapers like he was a newborn to make sure he isn't getting dehydrated. I just want to hold him. He hasn't slept this late...ever.

Of course, CT's first comment: What did you give him? What did mommy do to you while I was gone? Oh nice, now my heart is broken along with me being worried out of my mind. Yes, he did eat some dish detergent yesterday morning, but I think I got it all out, he puked a few minutes later (apparently didn't like the taste) and has none of the symptoms related to poisoning by detergent. I don't get it...what DID I do??

Pray for us. It is a dark and very moist hour here at the Goss residence.

Update: I knew he was really sick when he laid his head on my chest for 20 minutes while awake. The doctor says it is just a bug and that we should just keep nursing as often as he wants to keep him hydrated. The throwing up is almost over and the diarrhea should start any second and last for days. YAY!