Now that 20 questions is over ... let's get to the topic at hand. And, by at hand, I mean going down in the Pettee hizous at this moment (and the past 48 hours, in case you're into specifics).
Hey, new moms, in case you didn't know: WHEN YOUR BABY GETS SICK, YOU CAN TAKE YOUR BABYWISE BOOK AND THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW.
Pick your jaw up off the ground and stop looking so shocked. Okay? (((deep sigh))) Here we go.
Yes, my blog is "All Things Babywise" and all that jazz. Yes, I follow Babywise only second to the Holy Bible. Yes, I believe that Babywise is a great foundation/platform/guide to teaching your baby to sleep through the night. (Has anyone else noticed that I'm really into using "/" in this blog post?) Yes, I'm going to cram these principles down your throat until you listen to me.
Now, with all of that being said: there are some things that life throws your way in which you do not have a textbook answer. Lucky for you, I'm going to give my "Lindsey- because this is the story of her life" answer. No, these are not created equal, but you're reading my blog, so you must care what I think ... just a little bit? No? Okay, well, let's just pretend then.
This is what I have found in my (almost) 5 years of Mommyhood: every time your baby/kid gets sick they pick up new (mostly bad) habits. I'm going to be honest with you when I say that I usually allow this, because - well - when Baby's sick ... Baby gets what Baby wants. And, so far, every kid is different.
My daughter? She wants to watch TV in the middle of the night because it "makes her feel better." Yeah, okay.
My middle son? He wants Mommy to hold him beside his bed. I can't sit down, I really can't even move. I just have to hold all 30+ pounds of that gigantic toddler until he either falls asleep or decides that I can't put him down again.
My littlest baby? He cries and cries and cries until I pick him up, hold him tight, and rock him to Kingdom come.
These are doable, great, dandy, whatever you want to call it at the time because it allows your sick child to rest and, hopefully, not cry for that teensy weensy amount of time. And let me just shout from the rooftops that when my kid is sick and screaming, I will do almost ANYTHING to hear a little silence. Oh, stop with the judgey wudgey eyes already, you would do it too.
Let's get to the point: if you are a pacifist, like me, then there is a good chance that when your child recovers from whatever ailment he or she was plagued with, those new middle of the night habits will stick. And, oh man, you would think that I would have learned my lesson by now. Nope, I'm a sucker every time.
When your little tike grows up "Babywise," he/she is deprived of middle-of-the-night coddling for the most part. Of course, we think this is for every person's benefit at the end of the day. It sounds mean, but trust me, it is a GOOD, GOOD thing. So, when Junior doesn't feel well at 12 a.m., 3 a.m., or 5 a.m. and cries, which results in immediate attention, then your smart little kid is going to have a huge lightbulb go off in his or her pretty, little head. CRYING=ATTENTION ... Ahhh! Who knew?
But the ultimate purpose of this post is to tell you that ---- You can get back on track. Just, please, don't let the damage be too bad because you don't want to start from scratch again. Remember those first few weeks and months when you're desperately trying to sleep train? Yeah, those aren't fun. We don't want to go back; we want to stay at least within walking distance of the train track.
And, also, keep the sick habits to a minimum, if possible. Instead of letting my daughter watch TV, I could have just let her rest on the couch with me. Instead of holding my son by his bed ... yeah, I got nothing. Instead of rocking little baby incessantly, I could just hold him tight and let him feel comforted by that alone.
Caring for a sick child is just part of life, it comes with the territory. We're good moms, so we become our kid's slave during this time ... which isn't any different from any other day of the week, but you understand. I guess what I'm trying to say in a very round-about kind of way is that : Don't beat yourself up if you can't manage a sick child and Babywise. I can't either. As always, we do our best and we move on.
So, I want to make a public peace treaty .... Sleep: let's make friends. I really like you, and I think you really like me. I really, really hope we are reunited sooner rather than later. I'm glad we had that talk.
Thank you to everyone that just read that train wreck. I hope you got something out of it (other than the fact that I am certifiably crazy). Have a wonderful day and you know it....
Happy Sleeping!
-Lindsey
