Want to know how a stay-at-home mom spends her days? For me, right now they're spent rolling an infant from his stomach to his back because lord knows he can't be bothered to do it himself.
One afternoon in December, for approximately 10 minutes Ben's entire life was all about rolling from his stomach to his back. Then, inexplicably, he stopped. He would only do it if Nancy (known aliases: Grandma, mother-in-law, best pumpkin roll maker in the world) was present. Then he wouldn't do it at all. It was as if it never happened.
Out of the blue in early January he rolled from his back to his stomach. And unlike rolling the other way, this one caught on. Now we can hardly keep him off his stomach. Lying on your back is sooo 2008.
However, this can get annoying because after a while he gets sick of being on his stomach, but he will not roll to his back. He just cannot be bothered to manipulate his own body that way. I can always tell when he's had enough. He starts out by grunting, as if his head is too heavy and it takes great effort just to hold it up. Then he starts to fuss, which I'm sure means, "Can you not see that I'm finished with this position? Turn me over post-haste or there shall be dire consequences." Finally the crying begins. Sometimes I let him cry for a bit, thinking that maybe in his frustration he'll remember his long lost love affair with rolling from stomach to back. So far it hasn't happened.
So I spend my days rolling him onto his back, only to have him immediately roll to his stomach. Then he starts to cry again. WHY DOES HE DO THAT??
Not only does he do this all day long, he also does it at night. At his 4 month checkup the doctor said he didn't need a bottle at night anymore. Hallelujah! Let the sleep training begin! It was hard at first, but he was getting SO close to sleeping through the night I could taste it. Visions of being well-rested and not being permanently bleary-eyed danced in my head. Then this rolling thing began. Now he wakes up 5 or 6 times a night crying because he rolled onto his stomach in his sleep. Only for Mommy, though. No, when Daddy takes over night duty on Friday Ben sleeps beautifully and only wakes up once or twice. Maybe he just wants to see me more. Yeah, that's what I'll tell myself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is very funny and cute stuff, Katie. Please continue.
ReplyDeleteYour most recent entry reminded me of something your dad said shortly after you were born....he said, with a wide eyed guilelessness that until that time I didn't associate with the strong and droll Hal, that "if we just left her alone, she would die!" It didn't affect me very much then...being the snotty, angst ridden teen that I was. But in later years his underlying meaning has rung in my mind. It's that sweet responsibility. Though we may grumble and feel put upon, as you may when that silly boys' crying drags you from the warmth of your bed, you revel in being able to provide for his comfort. It's a feeling beyond mere accomplishment and in my opinion, brings us to the edge of actual joy.
I really appreciate that you're such an honest Mom in this blog. So many women, in my experience, have a terrible time admitting that their beloved babe is making them crazy. You're your Mom's daughter in that respect. And I totally mean that in a good way.
Scot
you know, you're uncle.