So, lately we’ve been undergoing some growing pains.
Ever since we returned from our trip, Miss C has been cranky and just generally difficult. A quick consult with Dr. Google indicated that her orneriness is likely due to a growth spurt, which often occurs around three months. She was 15 weeks yesterday and her drama began last Monday.
All occasions offer fantastic opportunities for her to cry. Feeding time. Playtime. Car rides. Bath time. Oh, and bedtime. That’s when she really hits the ground running.
I knew that I was flirting with disaster by telling anyone who would listen that she had been sleeping through the night since she was seven weeks old. She would be out like a light at 9:15PM with very few exceptions, quietly dosing off around 8:55 with little help from me. Then she would make it all the way 7:30 or 8:00AM without a peep. That is no more. The witching hour now transpires around 8:15PM with her screaming like someone is pulling out her fingernails. Our old routine of rocking, jiggling, swaddling, and hushing now does very little to get her settled. It’s a *tad* frustrating. Last night she wasn’t out for good until 11:00PM. She slept until 8:15AM, which I admit is no small thing and will elicit a “so what the heck are you complaining about, woman?” from many people. But the trauma of a bedtime of sorrow kind of overshadows that.
Nowadays she cries when we’re not in her line of sight, holding her upright, looking at her, not singing a song, etc. She cries when she’s wet but she cries even harder when she’s being changed. Is it the cloth diapers we switched her to about a month ago? Are they uncomfortable? She cries when she’s hungry (understandable) but she cries when I try to nurse her because it’s too slow/ she has to at least partially recline, which nowadays she hates because she can’t see anything. She cries when we give her the bottle, too. Sigh.
The soundtrack to our life is sobbing. As with all this baby stuff, it will pass. But tell that to me when I’ve been holding her for three hours because whenever I set her down she screams at me. Tell that to me when I’m on the fifteenth round of Baby Beluga. Tell that to me when she finally takes a nap and I get in such a tizzy about how I’m going to allot the next 30-45 free minutes that I end up panicking and choose to watch Nyan Cat.
Sure, it’ll pass. But in the meantime I’m going to sulk. And put the coffee on.
The Waiting 
Vacation may have thrown her for a loop, and it’s just now catching up with her. If you have a loose schedule, stick to it for another few days to see if she’ll settle back into predictability. If she hasn’t mostly recovered in a few days, though, you may want to take her to the doctor to make sure she hasn’t developed something yucky (like reflux). She may also be teething. My first one began teething at age four months. Although she didn’t get a tooth until nearly her first birthday.
Hang in there. It’s okay to set her down and take a break.
I think you may be onto something with the teething. She is like a saliva machine now and she constantly has her hands in her mouth. And you are for sure right about her being affected by the trip. Thought we were out of the woods when everything was so easy while we traveled, but all that time on the road for sure left it’s dent on her.
Thanks for your kind words. Sometimes it’s just the idea that we are not the first people to ever go through this that gets me through the day.
Sometimes it’s a delayed response, kind of like jet lag. All seems as it should be, and then suddenly they fall apart.
The first six or eight months of my 2nd kid’s life, we were enslaved by his schedule. He was so temperamental that I came to hate weekends. Having his daddy and big sister home threw off his nap schedules and everything else. He was so unaccustomed to seeing them at home because they were gone during the week. It would take him five or six days to settle back down. Just in time for the next weekend.
You are not alone. Point me in the direction of anyone who tries to tell you that parenting is all lollipops and rainbows, and I’ll eat their dessert for an entire year. It’s the harshest punishment I know if.
We are there with you. The 15 week fussies are not fun. Do you have the Wonder Weeks app? It helps you track these developmental changes an know when they are approaching.
I don’t have it but I will check it out! I need all the help I can get to know what’s going on with her developmentally. Thanks!
You’re not alone. Just imagine all the moms around the world who are going through exactly the same torture. It’s unnerving because they can’t tell you what’s going on so you have to rely on your maternal instinct. It’s a good time to do a little self-soothing for yourself. It’s not fun or pleasant but you’ll get through it, obviously. This is when moms come up with tricks that might seem “unusual” to others. I put Lily in a basinet and I would roll her back and forth, really fast, on the bumpy carpet to get her to stop crying. haha! That’s not something that you broadcast, but hey, it worked. I always found car rides to work beautifully. I can remember driving around at 1:00 in the morning listening to George Michael sing, “Freedom” on the radio. Ironic? Lol!
Oh man! What a soundtrack pick for that moment in your life! The other day, C was wailing and Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” came on right when I was on the verge of tears myself. It’s amazing how these songs become so meaningful when you’re in the trenches with babies.
Thanks for your sweet words; it’s truly reassuring that we are not the first people to go through this with our baby :)
Ah, the growth spurt. That crankiness things precedes growth spurts all the way through the teen years. My daughter is starting to “bud” and she has been a you-know-what on wheels for months now. EVERYTHING is a reason to whine. But back to babies…my son responded well to vigorous rocking. I was practically tossing him up and down one night at 2 a.m. He also sucked at nursing. (Ha! Get it? “Sucked”? Ok, I’m done being impressed with my own humor) He couldn’t stand to not see what was going on around him. So, I think the good news is that Miss C is brilliant and probably bored out of her mind. I would put my son in his Bjorn with him facing out so he could see the world and that made him happy.
Hey, I love corny puns! Your humor is just as impressive to me! The vigorous rocking worked really well for us in the past and now I’m just going to have to up the ante. I am willing to try anything short of putting her on top of the washing machine when it’s on the spin cycle.
What’s wrong with putting her on top of the washing machine!? Hey, if it works!
Ok, I check out that Nyan Cat thing. Better to take a nap when the baby does, I think. Everyone tells you to do that for a reason. I did it once and was hooked from that day on. Now, of course, I still take naps and my house looks like it!
The Nyan Cat is the most addictive thing ever!
This is my birth control. Right here. This post.
It’s so much less expensive than the Pill. But then again you live in Canada where the Pill is basically free. Well, they always say to double up your BC is you really don’t want a kid ;)
Emily,
Sulk and indulge. Yes, it will pass. Yes, baby will cry, because of a spurt, of teething, because you will drop baby on her head as you drank too much. But parenting is hard, it’s not easy, and there’s nothing wrong with saying it out loud. I’m off topic a bit, but I’ve heard friends, and even my wife, feeling bad for not being constantly in awe with parenting… You’ll hold her for three hours, she will stop crying, she’ll fall asleep, and while looking at her in your arm which will have lost all feeling, and colour, as baby applies to much pressure for the blood to flow to your fingers, you’ll have respite, and a surge of love… if you’re not too drunk.
Le Clown
Oh! It’s so true! Speaking words of wisdom, Le Clown.
You’re doing so well…I’m sure you’re much more patient than you think you are.
Thank you. You are so sweet to say so :)
We went through the exact same thing!! I think Sonia went to bed at 11pm for almost a solid month (not to scare you). And I can so relate to panicking about what task to accomplish first with your free 45 minutes. I know it doesn’t help to hear, but it DOES get easier. The 4 month mark was where it slowly started to shift for us, and then around 6 months a whole bunch of stuff seemed to get easier all at once. You know how it is–everything changes fast. Just remember that: every hard period is just a phase. You’re doing a great job!
Thank you for your sweet words! It never ceases to amaze me how comforting it is to know that we are not the first to go through all this. Misery loves company. Company, that is, that has something reassuring to say :)
Yep. You’re right on track. This too shall pass.
I remember when some parent friends of mine were going through this they changed their answering machine message so that when it picked up it was just 20 seconds of their baby screaming and then you heard “beeeep”. No “leave a message” or any verbiage. It was so funny because you just KNEW what they were going through.
Don’t worry. You can sleep when she gets into elementary school. And then you’ll have sleepless nights again when she’s a teenager. ;-)
Funny! I like their message! It pretty much encapsulates the crying games of enfanthood. FYI, the hunger games have nothing on them ;)
Best advice,,,sleep when baby sleeps !!! Go to your cozy bed, nurse or bottle feed her & sing her to sleep in your arms.and sleep, sleep, sleep. Let everything else go…
I can record my Sanibel CeCe song & send it to her !!!
You know she really liked being outdoors in Florida. After she eats, put her in the stroller & take a little walk….
Everything’s gonna be alright !
Please record it! She loves being held in Bubby’s arms and hearing your sweet song!
This reminded me of how my brother and his wife got into a routine of taking their screaming mimi for a drive – it was the only thing that soothed her, a car trip. Maybe Miss C. got used to the car seat routine. You can console yourself with a drive-thru trip to your fave 24-hour fast food joint…
I like the way your mind works. Anything that involves greasy food is a win on all counts. I can carry that baby weight around a little longer ;)
so not in my feed at all. Gonna un follow and follow again see if it fixes it.
Fixed it like magic.
Awesome!
Poor Miss C. Poor you!! This phase sucks, that’s all there is to it. With the first kid it was quick, but Mum held the second kid ALL THE TIME for a year. Not much partying around here that year. Hope it passes soon…
Haha, I think Miss C is pretty keen on the idea of being an only child and is trying to ensure that we make that happen ;)
Yeah, I think they all do that. I can’t decide if it’s counter-evolutionary or if it’s all about individual survival and therefore uber-evolutionary. Or random ;)
Oh dear, I hope Miss C get past this stage very soon!
Me too. Or I at least learn to adapt.
Oh, no! I hope it passes soon. Baby L has been like this since about week 3. She’s getting better but, HOLY CRAP, doesn’t it make you feel like a crazy person? But, I have to listen to all those other mothers that have come before me and trust that “this too shall pass…” Either that, or I will jump in front of a bus.
It’s true; it does pass, but try telling me that on hour two of her screech-a-thon.
I am totally there with you…did you see my reply to your comment on my blog? I tried to help!!!
I did see it :D Thanks!
For some reason all your comments are going into my spam folder. WordPress is cray.
Note to self to come back and read this once I am preggers.
It’s so true! I like to serve as free birth control for those of you out there who are childless and want to remain that way for the time being.
working!
You are lucky to have fellow bloggers on the internet. When I was a SAHM with tiny ones, I felt really isolated, which is probably why I started sounding like the Teletubbies by the time I found a job. One of the strongest memories I have of my oldest daughter’s infancy were winding up her swing, falling asleep on the couch, the swing stopping, winding up the swing again, falling back asleep, rinse, repeat. With daughter 2 we got a battery powered swing. She hated it. The only thing that put her to sleep was a ride in the car because she was strapped down. I think they frown on doing that outside of a car. Anyway, sweet baby and funny blog. I like it.