I hope my sarcasm translates in print. Since the beginning, we have been on a pretty regular schedule of eating, playing and napping. This routine was convenient because I knew that once he was fed and had some playtime, he would start to get crabby and I could throw him in the car where I could count on him falling to sleep. Then I could run errands while he napped until it was time for him to eat again. Apparently, Alex decided that plan doesn't really work for him.
Wednesday, I had to go to downtown Fayetteville to pay a bill, so I fed him and headed out the door. He was still awake by the time I left the Administration Building so I thought, what the heck, it was a beautiful day and I had his stroller with me, I might as well walk him around the square until he falls asleep. We didn't make it halfway around the square before he started fussing. In the past, being in the stroller and being outside was the double whammy - he would fall asleep without fail...until now.
I made the rest of the block, loaded him into the car, and proceeded to make the journey home. His fussing soon turned into crying, crying into screaming. His face turned bright red, then a lovely shade of aubergine, and I began to worry that he would give himself an aneurysm, a heart attack, or that his little head would explode right there in my backseat. His screaming eventually escalated until he was no longer making a sound. He just sat there in his carseat, mouth agape, producing a noise whose pitch might only be audible to nearby dogs. Finally, his shrill, wavering voice returned, accompanied by the most pitiful choking, sputtering, chin-bouncing and lip-quivering you've ever seen. I felt terrible, tried to console him at stoplights by reaching back to stroke his head and offer his pacifier, and contemplated pulling over to try to soothe him.
As I was reaching for my turn signal, an eerie silence suddenly filled the car. I hadn't heard a popping sound, so I was pretty sure his head hadn't exploded. When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I couldn't believe my eyes! Hallelujah, the boy was asleep! I made an extra block to see if he was just taking a break from all the screaming or whether he really had cried himself to sleep. Lo and behold, he stayed asleep until we got home and I took his carseat into the house.
Although he woke up pretty shortly after, I was highly encouraged. Up to that point, our attempts at letting him "cry it out" had failed miserably as he would cry indefinitely, howling from one feeding to the next, only causing him to become overtired and even harder to console. Or more often, my motherly guilt would force me to "come to his rescue" after only a short time of listening to his pitiful cries. This at least gave me hope that he might indeed have a limit to be reached...
2 comments:
That is the worst feeling when you are in the car and their cries turn into gasping shrills....you feel so helpless. He looks so peaceful in that picture and I LOVE his little shoes!
Dont think of it as crying and screaming ......think of it more as lung development!!!He's getting ready for all of his singing days :) hehe and if all else fails, at least he looks cute :) Dont have too much fun with Grammy and Popa.....tell him not to fret, Auntie L is coming soon!!!
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