Mommy-hood, that is.
(Or, I am Jack's disbelief in the need for sleep.)
Jack needed a nap. I wanted him to take a nap, since he was Mr. Grouchy the Screaming Boy, but he considers sleep to be a violation of his human rights. (So is wiping sweet potato off his face or forcing him to wait more than .5 seconds for food when he is hungry. Who knew?) Anyway, in an attempt to get him to succumb to the demon succubus of napping, I cradled him in my arms and offerred him a soother. He grasped the soother between his gums, took a huge breath, and then proceeded to blow the soother out of his mouth and about two feet into the air. This done, he arched his back and let loose a howl of outrage at my perfidy. I couldn't help it. I had had enough. I started laughing, out loud and right in his face. He stopped screaming and gave me a puzzled and somewhat distrusting look. Then he started howling again.
Jack: You mock my pain!
Me: Sorry, kid. Tough room.
This entry brought to you by the letter 'Z' and the fact that I have nothing new to say about writing, but lots of things to say about Jack.
Hey Erica, thanks for sharing!
I need to admit that I thought 'a soother' was a euphemism for a body part. I was then Very surprised for a split second while reading on, when Jack blew it "out of his mouth and about two feet into the air".
Posted by: Mark Everson | September 22, 2004 at 08:22 PM
Try taking him out in the stroller at nap time. Used to work for Glen. He was a really tough case.
Now what they did at day care was put the babies face DOWN (yes, I know everyone and their brother tells you that you will kill your baby doing this--they had parents sign releases), then they would put lightweight blankets over them, including their HEADS (yes, I know, see above) and then they would beat the hell out of them. Okay, that last was an exaggeration. But they would whack the baby rhythmically on the back until he/she fell asleep (probably losing consciousness from lack of air or something). It worked on ALL of the babies, ALL of the time. You can dispense with the blanket over the head, and you could do this while holding them in your arms, but the real key is the whacking. It only works if you give them good, solid whacks. I never had the heart to whack Glen as hard as they did there to get him to sleep. (I had no problem with the face down part since he was well past the greatest danger period for SIDS by then. It made me a little nervous to see them doing this with the tiny babies.)
Anyway, there ya go--advice from a daycare in the hood. :-)
Posted by: Catherine Shaffer | September 23, 2004 at 12:20 PM
Mark - ha! and ow! And ow! again. Nope, soother not attached to me. ;)
Catherine - I've tried a modified version (no blanket, and the whacks not too hard), and Jack seems to like it. Anyway, he seems to not mind whacking his head into things (much), so I'm trying to cultivate a faith in the human survival instinct. After all, all the smart people I know endured at least one really hard smack to their noggins. Myabe that's nature's reset button. :)
Posted by: Erica | October 16, 2004 at 05:14 PM
セント ピーターじいん おうどう はかり えんどおい きゅうせん かんこんそうさい
しゃあしゃあ きのめ ギア らっかん すうりょう ペンス
におも しょうに おやがかり せいふ てっきょう くつずみ
フィニッシュ はくする はたす つちぼこり リーグ ごみとり
いなご こころぞえ せつび こうみんかん テスティング にじてき
きびだんご しまぐに こうけいしゃ しょさ せめ こき
Posted by: KideSoliprodo | June 14, 2013 at 11:30 PM