Everyone is a number in this dystopian near-future where cameras track your every move. Score above 90 and your set for life. Score below 75 and you’re on your own, kid.
The Cycler Series
The Cyler Series: What would you do if you woke up one day as a member of the opposite sex? For Jill McTeague, this is no hypothetical question. It’s real life!
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Alright, Council of Wise Parents, time to pony up in the advice department. So here’s me smugly taking full credit for my easy-going chillaxed baby who: A) has been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks We’ve got it made, thinks I. Piece of cake. Parenting’s a breeze. Then yesterday, someone stole my baby’s personality and replaced it with her evil twin. Gone was Easy Addie and in her place was Agita Addie. If she wasn’t sleeping or eating, she was crying. The only way she’d stop was if I picked her up, put her over my shoulder, and walked around the apartment (preferably while singing and dancing). Now, I have no problem singing and dancing for my baby. But I don’t know if I should encourage this sudden burst of clinginess. After all, we got her to sleep through the night by using my Sicilian grandmother’s Theory of Benign Neglect (also endorsed by our pediatrician, Michel Cohen). Basically, let her cry it out, learn to self soothe, and, in the end, she’ll be a happier baby. But letting her cry herself to sleep at night is one thing. Letting her cry during the daylight hours when she’s reaching her tiny little hand toward me–while producing actual liquid tears!–is a whole different story. So my question to you, Council, is how do I shepherd her through this awkward phase without breaking my baby? All advice welcome. 6 Responses to “The Great Leap Backward”Leave a Reply |
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if it’s only been going on for a day, check if she’s sick. Ears in particular can be a real pain without showing any obvious symptoms, early stages of nearly anything can look like that, too.
Cuddle, soothe, check temperature, diaper status/frequency. Constipation can look the same way.
My feeling about this sort of thing in general with kids is that you’ve got to be you. If your instinct is to soothe her, go right ahead and soothe her, until you’re thoroughly sick of doing it, at which point go ahead and take a break. Personally, I was never much for the “let him cry it out” stuff; I soothed whenever he seemed to need it, until the point when I felt — not intellectually, but in my guts — that he’d had enough, and then I’d let him cry it out. Result: baby learned mommy is there for him when he’s sad, and also learned that sometimes you’ve just got to get over it on your own. It seems to be working out pretty well for us.
Do keep in mind, though, that your baby is not an evil mastermind attempting to make your life hell, much as it may feel that way sometimes! If she’s suddenly crying a lot, there’s probably a reason, or at least a reason that makes sense is Babyland. Maybe she’s got a tooth coming in, or an upset stomach, or something that’s making her world painful or scary. Go with your gut. If you feel she’s just making noise to get attention, let her cry it out, but if your instinct tells you that she really needs comforting, and you want to comfort her, I’d listen to that.
Also: you won’t break your baby! Babies are very resilient. Your daughter is going to grow up with a personality shaped around all your own nooks and crannies, and you can’t pretend to be someone you’re not: she’ll see right through you anyway. So you might as well be yourself with her as comfortably and honestly as possible. Doing what feels right to you is more important sometimes than trying to conform your behavior to what someone else tells you is best. They may be very wise, and you may take their advice into account, but ultimately parenthood is a long haul and you’ve got to do it in whatever ways you can live with.
Thanks, guys. Wisdom being processed. I think you’re right, Karen, that I have to trust my instincts. That’s really great advice. I think I’m still discovering what those instincts are.
I wish I had some wisdom to offer back in return, but all I have is a really great apple pie recipe.
I’ll take it! I know fuck-all about making apple pie.
You’ve got it, Karen. For the crust, I used Emeril’s sweet pie crust recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/sweet-pie-crust-recipe/index.html
The rest is my Mom’s recipe and it’s a wowzer. Trust.
7 Cortland or Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin (don’t dice; that’s important)
Mix together 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 heaping tablespoons of flour. Then toss the sliced apples into the mixture.
Put into the pie crust, heaping apples high. Put about 3 teaspoons of hard
butter cut up into small pieces into the apples. Put the top pie crust on.
You can use a fork around the edges to seal the pie and put some holes in the top crust with the fork so steam can escape.
Bake covered with tin foil at 400 for about 1 hour. Take tin foil off and
let crust brown about 10 minutes. Cool the pie.
Enjoy!
You have Saved Christmas! Ok not actually; much as I adore the xmas, it can get along without this Jewish girl just fine. But I will make pie for some autumn/winter holiday coming soon.