Yesterday was rough.
When Levi woke from his morning nap, we went on a lunch date to Whole Foods. Although he was being particularly noisy, he seemed to enjoy his macaroni and cheese and being out with mommy. Afterwards, we played at home until it was time for his afternoon nap. Because we had a cleaning lady working upstairs (our first time hiring a cleaning lady!) and I was afraid the vacuuming would wake up a sleeping baby, I moved Levi’s pack-n-play to the basement and tried to put him down in it.
Tried.
He started shrieking as soon as I turned off the lights. A panicked, bloodcurdling scream-cry. I left him alone for a few minutes to try to work it out himself, but he wasn’t showing signs of calming down. So I went in to check on him and he stopped crying as soon as picked him up…and then started up again when I put him back down. This happened several times before I decided to bring him upstairs to his room. Screw the vacuum. I thought being in his own crib would alleviate whatever was causing him such angst.
Nope.
We played the shrieking/pick-me-up game several more times before I just gave up. I couldn’t bear to listen to him scream any longer, and it was obvious that he didn’t want to nap. The ibuprofen I had given him to relieve his teething pain didn’t seem to be working, but it wasn’t medicine he wanted–it was me. As long as I was holding him, he was quiet.
Exhausted and feeling defeated, I cuddled Levi on my lap and turned on “Sesame Street.” Although I try to not be a “TV mom,” desperate times call for desperate measures. After 20 minutes of watching Elmo, Telly and some other blue monster turn themselves into shapes, Levi had calmed down enough that I could put him on the floor to play. He played bare-bottomed for a bit because he wouldn’t stay still for a diaper change, and I just couldn’t fight him any longer.
I handed Levi over to JB as soon as he walked through the door. Mama needed a break. The baby screamed and cried again when put him in his crib for night-night, but I was eventually able to rock him to sleep. And then it was my turn to cry.
It had been a long, long afternoon.
xx
Here are some interesting links to take you into the weekend:
Colorful totes featuring Josef Frank patterns
Have you ever had a frozen cappuccino? It looks so interesting!
What a clever idea for a book
36 fun facts about the wardrobe from this season of “Mad Men”
A $12 (!) letterpress family tree print makes a lovely new baby gift
Reminder! Win a collection of kid-friendly CDs from an award-winning musical group.
I also write for Lifetime Moms:
10 Stylish One-Piece Swimsuits for the Pool
Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there, including JB and my own daddy!
Hello! Just found your blog via sage and berries….love the layout, love ALL OF IT! 🙂 You have such a cute litte babe and I can completely relate to frazzled days…they happen. Hope your weekend is better and I look forward to following along! xo!
Hi Emily! Thanks for your note–and welcome! Isn’t Joy at Sage & Berries so talented? I’m happy you found my blog and look forward to getting to know ya!
The thing I like most about your blog is that sometimes I feel like you are writing about my house. Its nice to know that all of us Mamas go through the same things. Thanks PJ!
That’s the best compliment I could ever hope to receive! Thanks, Julia!
Hate hate hate those days. It always helps me to call my mom — among other reasons, she always asks lots of questions about the GOOD parts of the day and gets me talking about them enough so that I start forgetting about the horrible stuff. And thank goodness for husbands taking over too 🙂 Hope you and Levi are having more fun today!
Calling mom (or anybody) to chat about the good stuff is a great strategy–I’ll have to try to remember it!