It was 2:55 a.m. last night. I know because I logged it in Leah's "Event Log" - the place where we record her feedings and diaper changes.
Leah was sleeping in our room for the first time since we brought her home from the hospital. We had attempted this before, but she would never go to sleep during the night without being held. So we had been swapping shifts...mine was basically 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. AA's shift was essentially every other hour, but she also handled 4-6 a.m., until her mother sprung out of bed with open arms to relieve us until 8 or 9 a.m. (with the exception of AA's feedings every other hour).
But on this night, my job was to wake whenever Leah stirred, scoop her up, assist AA as much as possible, and then soothe Leah back to sleep after she was fed, burped, etc. And I tried to let AA sleep as much as possible. So if Leah awoke because of anything except hunger, the ball was in my court.
I should also mention that we had tricked Leah into sleeping in the room with us. She was asleep in my arms in the living room, but as soon as I set foot in the bedroom, her eyes opened up. I think it was a change in lighting....she must be clairvoyant or something. So I immediately stepped back into the living room, adjusted the bedroom lighting to match, soothed her, and put her down in the bassinet. Once she was asleep, I very carefully slid her bassinet inch by inch into the bedroom. My hope was that if she awoke in the bassinet in our bedroom, she would think "Oh, this isn't such a bad place...maybe I'll enjoy sleeping here more often in the future." I pretend my 1 week old thinks logically.
So there we were....the dead of night, just my little girl and me. It was dark and quiet. Leah began crying, so I went through my routine.
1) Soothe. We're talking bouncing, rocking, swinging, swaddling, talking, singing, ssssshhhhhhhing, etc. Tons of stuff I would never admit to in "guy talk." Anything and everything in the book. If I'm lucky, that will solve it, and we can all go back to sleep. Tonight....nada.
2) Since #1 never works at 2:55 a.m., it's diaper time. As the crying crescendos, I unzip the sleeper and try to hang onto this kicking, screaming mess long enough to assess the situation. It was a bad one, but nothing I couldn't handle to get AA some zzzz's (she certainly needs them these days).
I lifted Leah's legs and began to clean up. The crying intensified, but I expected it, so I was not alarmed. I continued the task at hand.
Leah upped the ante.
Just as I cleaned up and reached for the fresh diaper, the waterworks began. So I cleaned them up. Then I realized it was all down her back, soaked into the sleeper, and all over the changing table pad. Hmmmmm.....
I cleaned it up as best I could. Then I scooped her up in my arms and looked her in the eyes. As I supported her head, I realized it was actually in her hair too! I thought, "Man, I'm a bad father right now." Then I looked around....I had no fresh sleeper for her, a pile full of wet/dirty wipes, a dirty diaper, a soaked changing table cover, a sleeping wife, and a daughter staring me in the face. I realized the Peanut had taken control of the trickery we had put her through....I couldn't slip one past her this time. She calmed her crying long enough to shoot me a glance similar to the one below, as if saying to me....
"Your move, Daddy-O. What are you going to do now?"
My reply....
"Well played, sweetheart. Well played."
Leah was sleeping in our room for the first time since we brought her home from the hospital. We had attempted this before, but she would never go to sleep during the night without being held. So we had been swapping shifts...mine was basically 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. AA's shift was essentially every other hour, but she also handled 4-6 a.m., until her mother sprung out of bed with open arms to relieve us until 8 or 9 a.m. (with the exception of AA's feedings every other hour).
But on this night, my job was to wake whenever Leah stirred, scoop her up, assist AA as much as possible, and then soothe Leah back to sleep after she was fed, burped, etc. And I tried to let AA sleep as much as possible. So if Leah awoke because of anything except hunger, the ball was in my court.
I should also mention that we had tricked Leah into sleeping in the room with us. She was asleep in my arms in the living room, but as soon as I set foot in the bedroom, her eyes opened up. I think it was a change in lighting....she must be clairvoyant or something. So I immediately stepped back into the living room, adjusted the bedroom lighting to match, soothed her, and put her down in the bassinet. Once she was asleep, I very carefully slid her bassinet inch by inch into the bedroom. My hope was that if she awoke in the bassinet in our bedroom, she would think "Oh, this isn't such a bad place...maybe I'll enjoy sleeping here more often in the future." I pretend my 1 week old thinks logically.
So there we were....the dead of night, just my little girl and me. It was dark and quiet. Leah began crying, so I went through my routine.
1) Soothe. We're talking bouncing, rocking, swinging, swaddling, talking, singing, ssssshhhhhhhing, etc. Tons of stuff I would never admit to in "guy talk." Anything and everything in the book. If I'm lucky, that will solve it, and we can all go back to sleep. Tonight....nada.
2) Since #1 never works at 2:55 a.m., it's diaper time. As the crying crescendos, I unzip the sleeper and try to hang onto this kicking, screaming mess long enough to assess the situation. It was a bad one, but nothing I couldn't handle to get AA some zzzz's (she certainly needs them these days).
I lifted Leah's legs and began to clean up. The crying intensified, but I expected it, so I was not alarmed. I continued the task at hand.
Leah upped the ante.
Just as I cleaned up and reached for the fresh diaper, the waterworks began. So I cleaned them up. Then I realized it was all down her back, soaked into the sleeper, and all over the changing table pad. Hmmmmm.....
I cleaned it up as best I could. Then I scooped her up in my arms and looked her in the eyes. As I supported her head, I realized it was actually in her hair too! I thought, "Man, I'm a bad father right now." Then I looked around....I had no fresh sleeper for her, a pile full of wet/dirty wipes, a dirty diaper, a soaked changing table cover, a sleeping wife, and a daughter staring me in the face. I realized the Peanut had taken control of the trickery we had put her through....I couldn't slip one past her this time. She calmed her crying long enough to shoot me a glance similar to the one below, as if saying to me....
"Your move, Daddy-O. What are you going to do now?"
My reply....
"Well played, sweetheart. Well played."
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Just the beginning of priceless memories . . . enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha!!! You're such a good dad, BA, you almost make the diaper fiasco sound like a fun time. She certainly is a clever little gal, isn't she? In that photo she looks like she's reading your mind and is slightly puzzled by what she's found :)
ReplyDeleteThat look says to me, "OK, that was fun . . . What now, Daddy?"
ReplyDelete