Monday, January 11, 2010

The Rough Stretch

Cort seems to get a little more temperamental with each day that goes by.  To the point that he now regularly cries for stretches that last well over an hour, sometimes over 2 hours.  And then he may go to sleep for a 15 minute power nap only to wake up and cry again.  I've tried tylenol, in case he is teething.  He doesn't like to be snuggled.  He doesn't want floor time, the exersaucer, the swing, the jumperoo, the bumbo, or the bouncy seat.  The car does help, as does getting out, but I can't drive around all day.  It's so exhausting.  Constant crying makes you want to scream, to cry, to pull your hair out, and suddenly, OMG, you totally understand why Brittany Spears lost it and shaved her head that one time.  Cort doesn't have a fever.  He doesn't want a bath.  He's not hungry.  He just wants to be entertained at all times and it had better be some majorly good entertainment at that. 
I did a google for 'how to make your baby stop crying'.  This made me feel like a completely inadequate mother for sure, but I'm desperate.  So it turns out there's this fussy baby hotline, right?  Okay, good idea.  I call it.  They are only open from 8 am - 5 pm.  I ask all mothers in the world, IS THAT FUSSY TIME?!?  From 8-5?!?  Puhleeze!  So this afternoon I tried again.  And it was all, "Please leave a message and we will get back with you."  Right.  That's sooooo helpful.  If there was a world's worst hotline award, I would nominate you. 
Anyhow, I took the boys to Sam's today, which stopped Cort from crying for roughly 2 hours, because he loves to ride in the Bjorn and people watch.  Here's how to grocery shop with twins and a toddler:

As soon as we walked back in the door at home, Cort started screaming again.  Poor Pierce.  It's getting to him, too, because he went into his room, climbed into bed, and shut the door.  Now what toddler does that?  And do you know what?  I was jealous.  I wanted to go into MY room and shut the door.  Instead, I gave Pierce some extra snuggles, too make him feel a little better about things.

And then I painted my toenails green.  Now I know I've really lost it.  I mean, I stooped to painting them a metallic slate blue when I was 37 weeks preggo with the twins, in hopes of enticing them out.  But green?  I didn't stoop to green even then.

Wet N Wild's Craze nail polish in Jade - $1.99
This stuff is guaranteed to make you feel better.  Why?  Why not?  It's winter, no one will see your toes.  And the jade feels...tropical...in the middle of winter.  It made me think of Miami or somewhere nice and warm.  Furthermore, Wet N Wild has really improved their nail polish since I last tried some circa 1988.  Two coats and totally solid coverage.  Nice.
So there I was, feeling a little better about things.

And Pierce comes in and says, "Mommy painted her toenails green!!"
Long toddler pause.
"Mommy, that's NOT NICE"
Well, maybe tomorrow will be better.  Meanwhile, I am open for any tips on appeasing a disgruntled five month old. 

5 comments:

Labay Family said...

Ok, don't shave your head just yet! It will get better... just remember one of my fav sayings "this 2 shall pass". I remember mine would sometimes go through a funky stage for a few days and I truly believe they were feeling the effects of a growth spurt. Try googling that. Hope the little guy gets to feeling better soon!

Frogcreek said...

Hmm, I had a certain boy like that, and it turns out he has some big dairy and gluten allergies, once we stopped those, huge diff. Not sure if you breast feed of not, but try cutting those out of your diet. If on formula try a soy or lactose free type. If he is on cereal stick to ground up Brown rice, no oats of other grains and see if in two weeks he is a bit better. It takes a few months to see a big change, but you'll see something in 1-2 weeks if this is an issue. Fussy high needs kids are tough on us, and it's really hard to not know what they need. HUGS!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Thanks to both of you for the support. Interesting, mamak, on the allergies theory. I am breastfeeding, so maybe I'll try making some diet adjustments.

warren said...

HA! Green toes are awesome! Well, not on me, but on you they look cool!

Elizabeth said...

I have to agree with the allergies. You might want to talk to your doctor first but when I stopped breast feeding and put Mattie on soy I knew than that we would both live to see tomorrow. If your ever downtown please let me know. I would LOVE to see Pierce. The toe's where great. It's better than pulling out your hair.