I am convinced that the easy part of parenting is O.V.E.R. For the first 12 months of Rachel's life all we had to do was feed, clothe, and bathe the child. Now that she's (almost) 13-months old we're finding out, very quickly, that things have changed. We no longer have a slobbering pile of baby goo on our hands, but instead we are now living with an actual little person. And this little person has opinions, thoughts, wants (as opposed to just needs), and a good pair of lungs. When did this happen? When did she turn into such a big kid? And, when did I cross the line from being a new mom to being a mom who should know better?
Rachel has been a good sleeper ever since she was 10 weeks old. As soon as those pj's come on she knows that we mean business. And, unless something drastic happens, as soon as she's in her crib and the lights go out she knows that it's time to sleep...and she always does. So, how in the world could I have mistaken her cries last night to mean that she was no longer in sleep mode? What kind of mother am I?!
To make a long story short, after about 4:00 neither of us got very much sleep. She was crying and I was trying to practice tough love. I keep hearing horror stories from parents whose children don't sleep well anymore and I just DREAD having to deal with that. So, I let her cry off and on for several hours, because I wanted her to be able to put herself back to sleep. It wasn't until we went in to get her this morning that we found out why she had been crying.....the poor child was covered in urine. That's right...go ahead...award me the medal now...Worst Mom of the Year...right here. We put her to bed in a smaller diaper than usual last night and it just couldn't hold it all in and our poor little Pooh Bear was stuck having to sleep in it...all....night...long.
I hope we get the hang of this parenting thing soon. Our poor little girl is running out of clean sheets.
I've done it too, but when I did it I found vomit which is not just disgusting but also dangerous. We all make mistakes and there are more to come. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteGirl I don't think we ever get the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteIt stinks. Just when you think you are doing the right thing the children switch up the rules!
ReplyDeleteAll I can say, as a mother of a teenaged girl (and an 8 yr old and a 5 yr old), the smaller the child the smaller the problem. That is nothing compared to some of the "mistakes" that you are likely to make in your parenting career... lol All we can do is what we think is best for them at the time and someday we may laugh at it all.
ReplyDeleteSomeday... maybe
Make it a great day!