Sunday, March 7, 2010

Meet Your New Boss. He's Angry.


In the very moment that I am writing this, my son is going on his third hour of a nap. I should be joyful, triumphant, rejoicing. Some of our firm, stick-to-it-ness around recent nap and bedtime issues seems to be paying off. However, I cannot deny a creeping worry. Surely, something must be wrong. Is he coming down with something (again)? He must be getting sick. We just aren’t this lucky to have this long of a nap.

I have a friend whose children both take three hour naps reliably. They also wake in the morning about 9:00 am. These parents never conducted cry-it-out. These parents were sleeping through the night at about 9 weeks with their babies. There are names for babies like these. They are even referenced in all sorts of books about taking care of babies. They are called “Angel Babies.”

Ahhh, the angel baby. I have heard that these exist.

My niece was an “angel baby.” When my brother heard of our struggles with reflux and colic and allergy and crying (oh man, the CRYING), he was like, “Geez, I don’t hardly remember at all having to go and give my daughter a bottle in the middle of the night, maybe once.”

My first week with my son, I called my best friend who had two boys. She was like, “Gosh, Kristy, I don’t remember my son crying really very much, unless he was hungry.”

Do these people have memory problems, or do babies like this actually exist?

Of course, everyone thinks they’re going to have an angel baby as well. Soon after I gave birth, I will never forget my husband standing in our hospital room with our son, and he said (I shit you not), “We are not going to be those ‘ON-DEMAND’ parents. Our child will be on a SCHEDULE.” “Yes,” I affirmed, “A schedule.”

The crying started that night. I knew something was wrong. I had a creeping worry that perhaps we had not had an “angel baby.” From that point on, we darkly realized that not only were we on-demand parents, but a new boss had entered our house, and he was very angry.

Well, we SURVIVED with only mild residual post-traumatic stress. My son is now two-years old, and I’m here to write about it! Last night, my husband, son, and I were at a friend’s house. One of our friends had her 2 month old there. When we left, my husband said, “That baby was so QUIET.” I just chuckled because, to us, a quiet baby is quite an unnatural thing.

My husband is right now, as I type, waking our son from his now too-long nap. Guess what? My son is smiling. He is happy. He had great sleep. We are awesome parents. Nothing is wrong. (“It’s all going to be alright.”) I love my angel boy.

28 comments:

daddy/husband Lorenzen said...

Wait a second, I thought I was the boss....

Katinka said...

Stopping by from SITS and wishing you a fantastic Sunday :)

Oddyoddyo13 said...

Angelic kids? Are you sure you heard right?

Gillian Behnke said...

My 2yr old goes from Angel to Hellboy in seconds. The good news is he is pretty easy to distract and cheer up, except at 6am. Then it's ALL Hellboy, no halo in sight.

Actuary Mom said...

Stopping by from SITS. A three hour nap sounds wonderful! I am like you, I get paranoid if it lasts longer than 2 hours.

kathryn said...

Oh, and I can SO TELL how much you love your angel boy! He's beautiful, btw...but you knew that.

It's frustrating that we get so few reminders just how wonderful parents we truly are!

Pink Haired Momma said...

You are hysterical. I am starting to "make" baby #2 wth my H4L, because i have forgtten why i have this bald spot in the back of my head from the long nights of crying. Crying? What is that?How easy we forget, but how quickly they remind us!

Found you through POM!

Unknown said...

Love your blog...especially the name! Thanks for linking up to Connect MEme Monday! Following you now!

http://thepursuitofmommyness.com/

Lee said...

This blog is hysterical! So glad you stopped by so now I can stalk you!

babyandsofia said...

Hah! That is hilarious. It is so entertaining to read about other newborns...I think I am one of those lucky mammas. Paolo didn't really ever cry; maybe if he was really hungry or didn't want to be in his car seat. He fusses a bit, but is very easily soothed. The first time he pitched a fit, I called the pediatrician, because I worried something was wrong. (She had to stifle her giggles.) He's really only pitched about 3 real fits in his 5 months of life. I suppose we'll be in for it with the next baby.

melissa said...

Sounds like I got the same babies... my loud first baby is now an energetic, enthusiastic and loud toddler and I wouldn't change a thing.

Sure, sleeping through would be nice before 12 months, but oh well!

WarsawMommy said...

Dropping in, courtesy of Brenda and FlogYoBlog.

Yeah, our first son Max was the boss from Hour One too. Whenever I asked any other new and first-time mothers for advice, these SM's (Smug Moms) were happy to inform me that their baby (a) never behaved in such a way (b) never did such a thing (c) would NEVER be allowed to get away with it.

Funny thing about karma, though: every one of these women had another baby within one year of having has their first (because, you know, they had Angel Babies and just could not WAIT to have AB #2) and that second baby? WAS A NIGHTMARE! Crying, on demand, no sleep. You know, my whole life with Max, the one that they judged and found me lacking in.

Guess who the sleep-deprived, panicky, frustrated and not-so-SM's called?? You got it.

And it took all my strength to not rub it in.

Elena said...

Lol! I had one of each- had the angel baby first which tricked me into having the second baby who was not so quiet.

Anonymous said...

buy valium overseas valium dosage weight children - valium vs ativan

Anonymous said...

buy valium postnatal depression valium - buy valium online no prescription cheap

Anonymous said...

zolpidem online can you buy ambien in canada - zolpidem cost at walmart

Anonymous said...

buy diazepam diazepam labesfal 5 mg para que serve - diazepam 2mg insomnia

Anonymous said...

valium cost generic valium photos - valium jaw clenching

Anonymous said...

diazepam 10 mg diazepam 5mg pills - diazepam 10 mg lot

Anonymous said...

buy soma online what is carisoprodol 350 mg side effects - carisoprodol 350mg tablets side effects

Anonymous said...

buy diazepam generic valium valium drug detection times - how can i buy a volume in u.s

Anonymous said...

carisoprodol no prescription soma medication migraines - soma side effects stomach

Anonymous said...

generic soma carisoprodol vs hydrocodone - soma drug forum

Anonymous said...

carisoprodol soma somanabolic muscle maximizer workout - buy generic soma online no prescription

Anonymous said...

valium pills generic term valium - valium for sale online india

Anonymous said...

buy soma buy soma intimates - somanabolic muscle maximizer and all bonus programs download

Anonymous said...

buy diazepam generic valium valium pill side effects - valium 4 sale

Anonymous said...

http://mvbndfmjghwoooykutkyuyu.com mvbndfmjghwoooykutkyuyu
mvbndfmjghwoooykutkyuyu
[url=http://mvbndfmjghwoooykutkyuyu.com]mvbndfmjghwoooykutkyuyu[/url]