Things are devolving. For the second night in a row, Baby Girl has exerted her considerable lung power to avoid being left in her crib by herself at night.
I was at the gym so I didn’t have to deal with it (Mommy is a trooper, and puts up with a lot, and I do love her), but from what I understand, it was quite the event.
The problem is, if she doesn’t get better, we’re back at square one. Baby Girl in our bed, and no end in sight. This presents a number of problems. The first is that Mommy doesn’t really get the best night’s rest when Baby Girl is in our bed. We love having her there and we will definitely miss her, but Mommy has a tough job dealing with the general boobery at her Corporate Job, and she needs her rest. Lately Mommy has been calling me during the day, and she is, to say the least, not amused with the way things have been going. She’s tired, she’s frustrated, and the lack of a good night’s sleep certainly doesn’t help.
And to be completely honest, I feel a little guilty. Yes staying home with Baby Girl to take care of her is a lot of work, a lot of frustration (dear Dr. Baby Jeebus, why did you make kids so squirmy?), but I know that compared to what Mommy has to do, it really is the better side of the deal. The “New Economy” has necessitated some sacrifice’s from both of us (my pride, ego and financial self sufficiency, Mommy’s motherly instinct to be with her offspring), but if I had to pit my ego against her biological imperative, I know that as hard as it is for me, there is something primal in Mommy that is unsatisfied. There is a reason that you “don’t mess with a sow grizzly” as my own mommy used to say. The maternal instinct is powerful juju.
The second issue is that it leaves very little time for Mommy and Daddy to have Mommy & Daddy time. Being in Dallas has been difficult, what with the lack of any kind of support system down here, and while most couples have family and friends to whom they can drop their precious snowflakes off with to get some R&R, Mommy and I have been forced to go it alone. It hasn’t always been easy, and it takes its toll on a relationship. I, for one, miss being able to watch movies in a theater, have a civilized meal at a restaurant, and snuggling with Mommy uninterrupted.
The third issue is one of habits, good and bad. We certainly don’t want Baby Girl to grow up so attached to us, that she has trouble adjusting to real life. We would prefer that she have a sense of independence. And while we don’t expect that she will be able to go out and survive a night on the streets at six months old, sleeping in her own bed would be a good sign that we are heading in the right direction.
Issue four is one of personal laziness and sloth. Daddy has been pretty bad, much to Mommy’s frustration, about reading all of the required materials one has to read to raise a child. Daddy has been very bad. Mommy will vouch for this, and more than likely use it well into our old age as a point to illustrate what a lout I can be. I don’t mention this as a dig at Mommy (because I know she’s reading this), I mention it because I know I could do a better job at it, and I know I should. And I also know that if Baby Girl doesn’t find her way into her own bed soon, in a peaceful and organized manner, that I will be reading quite a bit more about baby sleep habits.
Now there are a number of reasons I haven’t read as much as I should have about baby sleep habits. One is that I have this stubborn belief, as wrong as it may be, that the natural order of things will generally take control, and that anything we do or don’t do to speed the process along, will most likely interfere with millions of years of human evolution, and somehow muddle things up. I realize that I am most likely wrong in this way of thinking, and am trying to overcome it.
I also have a stubborn streak a mile wide, which generally expresses itself in the following way:
“Daddy, do something.”
“OK dear, I will do it.”
Two days later:
“Daddy, did you do what I asked.”
“No dear, but I am going to.”
Four days later:
“Daddy, you need to do this stuff”
“I will, I will.”
Six days later:
Stuff is not done, and I feel like if I do it now, I’m giving in, because let’s face it, the Male Ego© is an incredibly stubborn and illogical mechanism. I am working on it. Slowly.
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