I wrote this a week ago and forgot to post it during the teething chaos. I'm happy to report that the teething has subsided for now and we are back to having a happy, sleeping (knock-on-wood) Ella! But I thought it was still worth sharing since the message is always relevant to being a parent...
I'd like to start this with a general observation from my oh so extensive 15.5 months of being a parent-- Teething is NO JOKE and by far one of the most underrated challenges of early parenting...at least at our house!
Ella has cut two out of four of her first molars...the ones on the left. Those came in a couple of weeks ago accompanied by grumpiness, tears, sleep-less nights, and at times, utter hysteria. We worked our way through it with tylenol/motrin, frozen chewing rings, cold cloths, and a combination of empathy for her and impatience toward the stubborn molars that took FOREVER to fully erupt. Luckily, they emerged, the storm calmed, and we resumed our closely regulated day to day routine. Sigh of relief.
Well...there are two sides to the mouth and two more first molar that need to come in...aaaaaaahhhhhh! And yesterday was the day they decided to make their presence fully known. The morning went great. We got up, ate breakfast, watched some Wiggles Dee (dancing), read some books, dressed Ella, ran some errands, and went to the park. By 10 o'clock it was nap time and I could see it was time to go. As I loaded Ella into the car, I could tell she was losing it. But, I wasn't too worried...I had just made her leave the park after all and it was nap time!
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| Bye-bye park! |
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Patiently reading while I made her
lunch...so far so good... |
She went down for her nap and only slept an hour. I really count on her to sleep from 10-12 to get a little downtime and to ensure she's fully rested (a.k.a. happy) when she wakes up. But, short nap or not, I got her out of her crib and we ate a quiet lunch together. So far so good. Um...well the clock struck 1 p.m. and Ella TOTALLY lost it. She went into hysterical crying, drooling, and chewing her hands. I gave her some Motrin, a frozen teething ring, and tried to distract her. She wasn't having any of it, so I let her be...sometimes she just needs a moment to regroup...it's rare, but when she needs to soothe herself, I try to let. She clearly did not want me to try to calm her. At this point, she followed me around as I cleaned up the kitchen bawling. I'd bend down to comfort her and she'd fall to the floor. I felt terrible for her, but at the same time, I didn't know what to do. I gave her a cold rag to chew on which helped for awhile, but she was back at it again within 30 minutes. At this point I was at a loss, so I gave her some books and her lovey and laid her in her crib with a sippy cup of cold water and her wet rag and left. I watched her on the monitor...at first she cried, then she rearranged the toys in her crib, then she drank some water, then she sucked on the cold rag and passed out. Allelulia!! That was an ordeal for both of us. My blood pressure had to have been high...I hate feeling helpless like I can't do anything for her to make it better. On a side note, my blood pressure has stayed surprising low throughout this preganancy despite all the additional stress and major life changes we are approaching. Every time I go to the doctor, I'm waiting for them to tell my blood pressure is high...but it hasn't been and I'm really grateful for that. I think walking everyday, eating healthy, and making sure I have at least 2 hours of "me" time a day has helped to keep my body calm thus far...lets hope it continue!
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After 1 p.m....and about 1 hour into the
teething meltdown...she would not let
me put her clothes back on after I changed
her diaper... |
Back to the story...Ella woke up around 5ish fairly chipper. Dah-Dee came home and she played with him. I made her dinner and we all ate peacefully. Brent gave Ella her bath and we read books, but quickly realized that she was not tired at all from the afternoon nap. So, I put on a DVR'd episode of Dancing With the Stars because I could not watch another children's program last night. Ella is OBSESSED with dancing, so she was super excited. She danced with the music and clapped when the audience clapped. She even had several daddy-daughter dances with Dah-Dee and it was so cute to watch them dance and have fun. Her smile said it all. I told Brent that I could totally see her on Dancing With the Stars one day and his response was..."I can't...Ella is definitely going to be an A-List celebrity. Only D-Listers go on DWTS!" Lol...hadn't thought of that. At 9:00 (an hour and a half past bedtime) I decided she had to go to bed. We gave her some Tylenol for the teething and brushed her teeth and off we went. She went to sleep as I rocked her. I put her in her bed and of course she woke up. I told her good-night and that I loved her and bee-lined out of there. She played with her toys for about thirty minutes. I got straight into bed...she had FLAT OUT WORN ME OUT yesterday. Brent went for a run. Then, she fell asleep. BUT, when you're a Mom, you just get that feeling on nights you know you won't get uninterrupted sleep. I got that feeling and tried to get as much sleep in before it was time to wake up again.
At 3:00 a.m. that feeling proved to be accurate. We woke up to Ella crying. I said something along the lines of "No, no, nooooo" to Brent. You see, one thing I really count on during this pregnancy is a full nights sleep. I go to bed at 10 and wake up at 6:30. I guess you could say that I too am on a strict routine! When this routine is interrupted I get so tired the next day. Brent attempted to help her go back to sleep, but she was pretty much hysterical. That's when Mommy always steps in...not because he can't do it...just because it makes the process quicker. So I went in there and spent over a hour rocking her and singing to her--waiting for the tylenol to kick in. She was exhausted, I was exhausted. Around 4ish, the medicine provided her some relief and she was more calm and sleeping. I tried to lay her down...of course she woke up. I sort of ran out of the room and crossed my fingers. She didn't really cry. I watched her on the monitor as she played with her toys and then, finally, she fell asleep around 4:30 a.m. She was up again by 7:00.
I am more and more convinced everyday that being a parent, a good parent, means you have to act totally selflessly unconditionally, 24/7. Your baby is not going to ask you if you're okay with something or thank you for staying up with her all hours of the night helping her go back to sleep. There are no medals to be won or routine pats on the back, but every now and then you'll be surprised. As I got back into bed as quietly as I could because I thought Brent asleep. He rolled over and said, "You're a good mom, Kristen." And at a moment when I wanted to cry from exhaustion I felt a sense of pride because I really do try to be a good mom and even at 4 a.m. my wonderful husband had taken the time to tell me that. He's the best. After that, I rolled over with a smile on my face and went to sleep...but not before I prayed that Ella would sleep in a little later.
I got 30 extra minutes of sleep this morning. And, it's a new day! Ella woke up in a really happy mood. Brent took her out of her crib and changed her. Then I heard the pitter patter of happy feet into the bedroom. I was greeted by a huge smile and a big "Hey" from the sweetest little girl I know. Brent followed her in with a smile and a chipper "good morning". Despite being tired, and groggy, I consider myself to be the luckiest person in the world to have two beautiful people (soon to be three) to wake up to every morning. I may not win any medals-- but I do feel like I have the most important job in the world because I get to spend everyday taking care of my sweet family and that is truly rewarding!
But, teething can seriously take a vacation for a while.....
