Ouchies!

As my giant dumbell-shaped water bottle I had in high school put it, “no pain, no gain.” This is the essence of Ila’s last month of tooth growing and it has not been easy for any of us! Just when she was settling into a nice predictable schedule and I thought I was doing SUCh a good job, she suddenly despised her crib or anywhere outside twelve inches of her mommy. We gave her some tylenol before she went to bed on the nights she really seemed to be in pain, but if she immediately stops screaming when i simply hold her, she can’t be in all THAt much pain can she?! I guess her mommy is her favorite medicine ;) So while I inwardly am LOVING this mommy-clingy stage, it’s also exhausting! It is sooo cute bringing her in bed with us at night and having her cuddle against me, but that also means that I’m stuck in that same position for the whole night no matter what! After two weeks of that along with her taking 30-40 minute naps during the day, (as opposed to her usual 1-1 1/2 hours) we started trying to keep her in her crib at night again. It works, but it also means jumping out of bed 5-6 times per night and running to her screaming until I can get her to sleep again. I honestly don’t think I’m capable of the “cry it out” method, but fortunately I don’t really believe in it either. I’ve studied too much Freud I think. Anyway, as hard as it is to watch my little darling experience some of the “ouchies” of life, I think I am meant to cherish this period of late-night cuddling because I know it will go by before I know it. With God’s help, I hope that I can provide her with the love and comfort she needs and instill in her trust that someone will always be there in her times of “ouchies.”