Changing Goalposts
It’s a universal truth that just as a parent begins to feel they have figured out some aspect of their child, said aspect undergoes a radical change. So it’s not surprising to me that just as Sara seemed to be slightly less of a mystery to me, everything got turned on its nose seemingly overnight. She slept in no more than two hour bursts last night, which thanks to co-sleeping and nursing in bed wasn’t itself a life-altering event; the best she’s ever done is 4 hour consecutive sleep overnight, anyway. She then spent the entire day fussier than normal, particularly once I left the house with her (of course — meltdowns wouldn’t be fully successful if they were done in the confines of our own home!) Thankfully, we were headed to Grandma & Grandpa Blackburn’s house so that too was not as hair-raising as it could have been (like my 45 minute Post Office ordeal several weeks ago.) After so much crying, fitful nursing followed by fitful sleep, prodigious drool and Sara’s new habit of gumming her fists, it finally occurred to me/us that Sara may in fact be teething early. In addition to the drool, I’d noticed her gums appeared whiter in places — teeth below the surfacing awaiting to erupt?
A single dose of infant Tylenol, given on the premise that it might cut the teething pain a little, seemed to perk up her spirits this evening, but we shall see. She’s still too young to grasp items, so the few teething ring items we have aren’t real helpful to her, but she did take a pacifier for longer than she has in months (she’s not a pacifier gal, despite us offering it since she was just weeks old.)
Now at 35 past midnight, she’s konked out in her usual spot across my lap on a pillow, having been nursed twice in the past 1.5 hours. I did manage to pump a bit of breastmilk the past 24 hours so maybe, someday, I will actually be able to leave Sara with a trusted family member for 45 minutes or so to allow Justin and I to resume cycling for exercise and fun.
I’m exhausted but preparing to set up for another sleepless night like last night. It was good to get out of the house and visit my family again (third time this week, in part due to Justin having to work late and because he understands my need to interact with other adults outside of the home.)
The only constant is change. Sara and Justin and I are rolling with it and, so far, so good.
