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Today was a long day for The Tot.  After waking The Mommy up at 4:15 and just not quite giving in to The Mommy’s attempts to get her back to bed, we started our day.  *Heavy sigh*  Not enough sleep for this Mommy or for Tater Tot.  During her morning bottles, she was biting and pulling on the bottle nipple with her little teeth so I’m assuming she had some teething pain.  It didn’t seem like anything severe enough to warrant medication, though.

After her first nap, we piled her in the car to drive an hour to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Cousin’s birthday party.  Two hours at the party, lots of stimulation from other kids and dogs, and an hour drive home with a short nap in a funky position (new car seat doesn’t recline), and The Tot was a wee bit cranky.  But she seemed happy enough to play until time for Family Walk before dinner.  Cranky Pants during dinner for no apparent reason but calmed down for Reading Time With Poppa.  Severe Crank Monster during Changing Into Pajamas but calmed down for bed time bottle.  Nice and calm during Rocking but cried when put down.  Luckily that only lasted for two minutes.  A very long two minutes.  She settled down and fell asleep but I don’t hold out hope that it will last all night. 

Having started my day at 4:15am, the smart thing to do would be to end this right now and go to bed.  For once, I am going to be smart.

Yes, that is a question rather than a title because I can’t be sure that what I do can/should/would be called gardening.  Basically, I ignore my garden until it is so overgrown that I can’t stand it.  Then I hack it all back to oblivion so it can grow back healthy again.  So my gardening consists of weeding occasionally, watering hardly ever, and cutting the crap out of everything twice a year.  Is that still considered gardening?  If it’s not evident, I’m currently on a “hacking it back to oblivion” compulsion.  It’s so satisfying to see our fence underneath all of that overgrown morning glory!  And the little plants that have been trying so hard to grow underneath it now have a fighting chance!  I’ve got a long way to go but The Daddy has next week off so maybe I’ll get a little extra time to make some progress.  Oh, who am I kidding?  If I get extra time I should be sleeping for heaven’s sake!

Anyway, we finally got to go shopping today after our botched attempt yesterday (cranky nappiness on the way to the store prompted The Mommy to turn around and go home).  Princess Tater Tot was very well behaved and we spent quite a bit of time picking up things for the house and looking for birthday present ideas.  I could tell it was time to go, however, when Tater Tot wanted everything I picked up and started to fuss if I didn’t give it to her.  Ah, Toddlerhood.  I’m sure it doesn’t get any better from here on out in terms of the toy-wanting behavior. 

She fought her afternoon nap again today so I rocked her a little bit extra and slept with her in the recliner.  I hate to do that because I’m sure sleep is more restorative in her crib but, I swear, to see her little “waking-up face” right next to mine is just so precious.  She wakes up with a big smile and starts babbling to me and I just melt.  Besides, I figure some sleep is better than no sleep!  The other thing about having her sleep with me in the recliner is that I’m forced to nap, too.  Naps are good. 

Well, Princess Tater Tot woke up once last night but was able to soothe herself to sleep.  This Mommy is so grateful I don’t even have the words!  I got so spoiled with her sleeping 6pm-6am that I had forgotten what a heinous toll it takes on me when she doesn’t.  Hopefully we’ve weathered the worst of the teething for the time being. 

Oh!  Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!  Not that this day is any different than any other day.  Diapers still need to be changed, errands need to be run, dinner needs to be cooked, laundry needs to be done.  But, at least for today, I am going to try to take it easy, pick up some ready-made tasty food from the local health food store, and shave the legs so that, if we’re not too tired…

Princess Tater Tot slept through the night last night!  Hallelujah!  Of course I woke up multiple times but at least I did not have to get my aching Mommy Body up and rock her for two hours.  What a bonus, huh?  It was soooo nice to sleep!  And she went down for her first nap as usual: talking herself to sleep.  She didn’t even want me to rock her!  What the…?  I put on the “sleepytime tunes” and she leaned over to her crib.  I tried to keep rocking her because she has done this before and when I put her down she screams like a banshee.  Well, not today!  She kept leaning over so I put her down, kissed her forehead and said “Mommy loves you.  Have a good sleep.”  She cried when she realized that I was leaving the room but then she just started talking to herself and playing with Tigger.  We may even have a shot at getting out of the house on time without major drama to get to my doctor’s appointment!  Imagine that.

Hopefully today I will get a referral to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc to look further into the vertigo deal and see if there are other options than “drug yourself so you’re too tired to function.”  Luckily this only happens every 2-3 months but still!  In my humble opinion, that’s 2-3 months too often for this Mommy.

On an unrelated note, I have started to try the Blood Type Diet.  Not to lose weight although that would be an added bonus.  It’s a very interesting concept and I got into it because my sister was told that she may have another autoimmune disorder (all the women in my family have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis).  So she’s trying the diet too.  I had looked into it before but hadn’t really tried to stick to it before.  This diet in particular talks about certain foods producing reactions in your body that cause your immune system to attack the body.  Well, we don’t need that, do we?  For my blood type it suggests avoiding wheat, corn, white potatoes along with a ton of other stuff.  But it reccomends a high protein, low carb diet which I already was used to doing.  It’s pretty easy to follow because I’m already used to shopping at the health food store and I’ve become pretty interested in alternative types of foods in recent years.  For instance, instead of ice cream I’m eating Rice Dream made out of rice milk.  Is it as good as ice cream?  No.  Does it satisfy the sweet craving? Yes.  Occasionally I’ll still have ice cream but until I do, this tides me over.  Another example is using rice flour pasta instead of whole wheat or regular pasta.  It feels good to know that I’m taking good care of myself so that I’ll be around a long time for The Tot.

Last night was a mini-repeat of Saturday night.  Ugh.  It takes me back to the “Dark Ages” when The Princess was colicky and it makes me think that she will be an only child.  I am too old and tired to do this again.  Everyone I talk to says that, when Tater Tot is two, these memories will magically fade and/or disappear and I will want a second.  I have a hard time believing that but I guess it could happen.  I mean it would be nice for The Tot to have a sibling but, seriously, could my 38-year-old (at least 39-year-old by then) body and psyche handle this much sleeplessness and fatigue?  I know people do it all the time and that makes me feel like a wimp.  I guess we’ll just have to see how I feel later.  Much later.

Back to last night.  She had the courtesy to sleep until 11:30 last night so I could get at least three hours of sleep in before she got me up.  But she was completely discourteous by not letting me sit down to rock her for two hours.  I gave her the homeopathic teething tablets again and swayed/walked with her for two hours, determined NOT to play with her.  I did NOT want this to become the ”let’s get up in the middle of the night so we can play with Mommy” ritual.  So, just as my arms were about to fall off, I ended up waking up The Daddy to seal the deal.  She was mellow and quiet but I my body just wasn’t cooperating any more.  The Baby Whisperer worked his magic and I finally got to get some more sleep.  Not quite enough to feel great but enough to get through the day.  Luckily her first nap went as usual.  Maybe that’s a sign that she’s getting back on the right track.  Either that or she’s too tired from sleep deprivation! 

I’m not sure how to tell if she is waking up in the middle of the night due to teething pain or if it’s just her wanting her Mommy’s company.  That makes deciding what to do in the middle of the night a bit more complicated.  I feel like I want to comfort her and assume that it’s teething pain but when she looks and acts fine just until I start the “sleepytime routine”, that makes me wonder.  She has begun crying when I leave the room lately so that points to separation anxiety but she also has 6 teeth coming in.  Huh.  Hopefully she’ll get back to normal tonight and give The Mommy a break.  Fat chance, huh?

Last night was the worst night we’ve had since Princess Tater Tot was 3 months old and colicky.  I remember doing the “Tater Tot Stairmaster” up and down and up and down our staircase singing “I’m going up the stairs with Tater Tot in my arms” over and over and over until I was pouring sweat and I thought I was going to die because that is the only thing that would keep her from screaming her head off.  Man, have I gotten spoiled since then!  But last night I felt like I had gone back in time.  She woke up at 9pm wailing.  I gave her homeopathic teething tablets.  Still crying.  Walked and swayed and sang.  Still fussy.  Gave her Tylenol.  Let her play on the big comfy chair with the lights low (yeah, like that makes a difference!  Playing is playing and she probably thinks that she can wake up and play in the middle of the night all the time now!).  Calm, smiling, happy.  Until I start the “sleepytime routine” again.  Then screamin’ her head off.  To top it off we had a house guest.  Suffice it to say he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night either.

Three and a half hours later, she is still fussy.  What the hell?  I’ve given her all the medication I feel comfortable giving her, I have rocked her, given her an extra bottle, and generally done every flippin’ thing I can think of and….NOTHIN’!  Not even a HINT of readiness to go to sleep.  Finally I just let her wail in her crib because I was about to just fall down dead!  Well, that woke up The Daddy and he took over.  It took him another hour to rock her to sleep.

What happened to my happy little sleeper?  Who came in the night and replaced her with Alien Baby With Attitude? Granted, she is getting six new teeth in various stages of breaking through but I did dose her up with all the stuff that’s supposed to make it better. AND she seemed abso-friggin-lutely FINE while we were sitting quietly and she was shaking the homeopathic teething tablet bottle and grinning like the Cheshire Cat.  That’s why I’m wondering if it’s part teething and part separation anxiety.  She is rather attached to The Mommy right now…  Maybe I’ll never know but all I can say is I’m really, really, really glad that whatever it is, it will pass.  I just hope I can last until it does…

On a happier note, we went to the beach today and she had a ball!  She loved playing in the sand and watching the birds fly around.  That’s good news for me.  Maybe this kid will end up being a surfer like her Mommy.  It sure would make it easier for me to get back in the water.  As soon as this kid can swim, I gotta get her on a surf board.

If ever there was a day to break my New Year’s Resolution, today is it.  After my stellar day yesterday, Princess Tater Tot wakes up crying at 9:30 last night, just as The Mommy is getting her sorry, shoulda-been-to-bed-a-long-time-ago butt into bed.  So I rock her like I did the other night thinking it’s tummy trouble again.  But it doesn’t work.  At all.  So I give her a teeny bottle thinking she may still be hungry.  Nope.  Still crying.  Change her diapers.  Very full.  Hmmm…maybe that’s it.  Nope.  More fussiness.  As I’m getting ready to give her some Tylenol, she is sitting on the floor playing with a water bottle looking like the cat that swallowed the mouse.  Huh.  Interesting.  Instead of giving her the Tylenol I take her back into her room and start rocking her.  Instant fussy-pants.  All the while she is having bouts of squirming a writhing like she is in pain.  This is why I didn’t feel comfortable just letting her “cry it out”.  So I walked with her.  There is now a well-worn path by her crib.  Back and forth.  Forth and back.  Over and over again until she is asleep.  Not taking any chances, I sleep for a couple of hours in the recliner in her room with her on me instead of putting her down in her crib and having her wail again. 

I decide in the middle of the night that I will try to put her back down in her crib like I did the other night because I need to pee!  Nope.  Instant wailing like a banshee.  Huh.  So I pick her up and walk, and walk, and walk some more until I finally decide to give her some Tylenol.  What the hell took me so long?  All I can claim is exhaustion.  You know how it is in the middle of the night when you are more asleep than awake and you are praying to whatever God you worship that your child will just magically fall asleep.  So I gave her some Tylenol and put on the songs that I rock her to sleep with and, clunk, she’s out like a light.  Too bad it was 4am.

We sleep until 7am and then go about our regular routine.  Except the nap.  No nap.  Finally I stuck her in the car and drove down to the beach.  Zonk.  Out like a light.  So I parked at the beach and slept in my car with her.  Unfortunately, it was only a half hour for me.  Oh well.  As The Grandfather would say “better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”. 

Long story short (uh, too late).  My arse was dragging all day (and still is…why am I still awake?) while Princess Tater Tot was alternately Senorita Cranky Pants and Miss Sweetness and Light.  Whew!  I can’t keep up.  I’d better learn my lesson and get my Mommy Butt in bed.

In case you were wondering, I didn’t break my New Year’s resolution even though I desperately wanted to.  I would have given my left leg for a cup of coffee at some points during the day.  And after dinner I craved ice cream like nobody’s business.  But I made itzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  What?  Oh, sorry.  Zonked out.  Better go hit the hay.  Until tomorrow.

Today I needed Tater Tot to be low-maintenance.  Luckily for me, she was an absolute angel!  Last night was one of those nights when I had a hard time falling asleep, woke up at 2 am and could not get back to sleep.  So I got up.  And organized all of our photos.  I’d been meaning to do it anyway.  Why not at 2:30 am on only 5 hours of sleep?

I told myself “Self, you will nap when she naps today because you are going to be very tired.”  As luck has it, Princess Tater Tot went down for her first nap without a hitch.  Hooray! I took the time to shower and get ready for the day, thinking “I’ll lay down after I get dressed and ready.”  Nope.  Didn’t happen.  I thought “Tater Tot needs a bath today.  I’ll just get that stuff ready before I lay down.”  Then I thought “I should pick up the downstairs before I lay down” and went to do that.  You get the picture.  Before long, the Tot’s nap was over and The Mommy had NOT napped.  So we bathed, played, ate, laughed and grocery shopped.  All without a fuss. 

I noticed sleepy eyes and The Tot busted out with a yawn so I high-tailed it into her room and slapped on the “sleepytime song”.  Out like a light before the song was over.  Hooray!  “I’ll just wrap this Christmas present before I lay down”, “I should clean up this scrapbooking stuff before I lay down”, “There’s a load of laundry that needs to be put away before I lay down.”  And The Tot’s second nap was over before The Mommy took a nap.

When Tater woke up from Second Nap, she was in a good mood and played “Jungle Gym Mommy” on the floor for a while until The Daddy got home.  Then the evening routine began in full swing.  Hooray!  Only a little more time before I get some time to myself.  We ate, read, changed into jammies and rocked.  Whew!  Another day “put to bed”.  I thought “I’ll watch a little bit of a movie before I go to bed early”.  Nope. Didn’t happen.  Instead I followed that thought with “I should clean up these dishes before I watch the movie” and ”I should post to my blog before I watch the movie”.  What time is it?  Oh, it’s not “early” anymore.  I should go…NO!  I’m going to bed.

No, I don’t mean those times when I eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s at one sitting or when I buy that extra pair of shoes that I know I shouldn’t because they look soooo similar to the ones I already have in my closet.  I’m talking about laughing when I’m trying to rock The Tot to sleep.  She does the funniest things when she’s tired and fighting sleep.

Today when I turned on the music and started rocking her she immediately started with “hnnnnnn”, “hnnnnnn”, “dadadadada” and kicking her legs.  She usually will then progress to gnawing on The Mommy’s shoulder or, more painfully, the collarbone (ouch!).  If there is any paraphernalia or decoration attached to or hanging off of my person, she then will find it, pick it up and hold it directly in front of my face with an expression that says ”Mommy!  Look what I found!”.  Then it goes in her mouth.  Take it out.  Stare at it.  Hold it really, really close to Mommy’s face again.  Put it in the mouth again.  Bury head in Mommy’s chest then look up reaaaaal slow with big, wide eyes and a huge grin as if to say ”Are you sure you want to put me to sleep now when I’m so cute?”  All the while I am attempting to sing the lovely tune that is coming out of our CD player.  It’s a nice song.  Jack Johnson.  I like it.  I like to sing it.  But sometimes I am reduced to just holding her and shaking because I am laughing so hard.  She knows she has me and she starts to laugh, too.  Not good in terms of getting her to sleep but worth it in terms of the warm fuzzies…

Teething isn’t fun. Another Master of the Obvious observation from The Mommy. The Tater Tot woke me up 20 minutes after I fell asleep last night and took 1 1/2 hours of rocking, one dose of Tylenol, and some Orajel to get back to sleep.  She woke up too early and, of course, did not want to nap today.  She took short little catnaps which resulted in Exhausted Sleepyhead Mommy With A Headache.

On the bright side, there were whole hours at a time where she was her usual charming, beautiful self today. We made it through a Target run with no melt-downs or major mishaps, which is always nice.

We took an extra-long evening walk tonight because she likes walks so much and they keep her calm.  Hopefully she’ll be back to her sleep-through-the-night self tonight…