I remember when (as it was just a week ago) I had a lovely baby, one that has pushed through her colic phase and for the most part was a happy little girl. Right now this seems like a lifetime ago. I do admit that sometimes she was cranky, she is a baby after all. But in general when it came to babies, we had been blessed. At 8 weeks, our little girl started to sleep between 7-9 hours in a row (amazing right?) and then she’d go back to sleep for at least 2-4 more hours, AND she’d take three naps a day ranging from 1-2hrs at a time. I was spoiled. It was glorious.

But then last Thursday a “Wonder Week” hit us like a ton of bricks. It all started with our girl waking up at 7 for good instead of between 8-9:30 like she typically does. Followed by not taking her morning nap and on her second nap she stayed in bed for a minuscule 30 minutes. Then she Super Cried.

Su-per Cry (adj and verb combo)

Definition: A level of crying that you couldn’t have imagined being possible until you’ve spent time with a baby in the middle of a meltdown. This cry seems as though the baby is in the worst pain on earth but in fact, they are are either tired, hungry or just plain cranky. Sometimes a Super Cry can cause the parents to cry, and it makes grandparents not want to hold the baby anymore. And if you know anything about grandparents, for them to not to want to hold the baby, it has to be something awful. 

Because of said Super Cry, I gave up on trying to get her to sleep in her crib and I let her sleep in my arms for three hours. Don’t get me wrong, the snuggles were nice, but my bladder wanted to murder me. That night, our awesome girl, woke up at 2am. She hadn’t done this for WEEKS. Then she woke up again at 6 and wouldn’t go back to bed. Her naps that day were also a nightmare. Needless to say, Saturday and Sunday were much much worse. It’s Tuesday now, and I can sense that the end is near. Last night she slept for 7hrs straight and she’s napped well today. She’s been a bit fussy and my nipples hurt from how much she’s been eating but all in all, it’s been a better day. Well, until now anyway – $hit just got cray.

It honestly astounds me how a child so small, can cry and scream louder than Mr. Opposite’s cover band can play. The main thing that’s been getting me through this has been knowing that all parents and all babies go through this and it’s not our parenting style. We’re not f-ing it up. I just need to remind myself that we’re going to make it through this; all of her craziness is not my fault and that tag-team parenting really helps. That, and at the end of it, she will have discovered more of the world and be more alert and even more awesome. The worst part is that I’ve read her next leap is going to be way way worse than this one because it’s longer lasting and she goes through so much more. The light at the end of this tunnel is quite dim, unfortunately. What’s that all about? Serenity now.