Remember how I was so worried about how the cats would react to having a baby in the house? That seems like so long ago, but this morning reminded me of why I was concerned.
Up to this point, we've all gotten along splendidly. Because we put in a pet door to the back porch, we hardly see Daisy anymore, so she's pretty much been taken out of the equation. Mimi has been a handful, but then she's always been more needy anyway. If a cat can be clingy, well then she is that cat. Sometimes I think it's more difficult to be home with Mimi all day than it is with Mary Ellen. Mimi just has some weird days where she follows me around the house and cries for seemingly no reason. This morning was one of those days. Mary Ellen had gotten up really early (around 6:15) for a feeding, and she didn't seem ready to go back to sleep, so I got her up and brought her out into the living room. We read some stories, she looked at Sea Horse (thanks for the reminder, Amy), and eventually she turned on the fussiness and was clearly ready to head back to bed. Mimi, being her helpful self, decided to join us and lend a hand. Here's where it gets complicated.
I'm sure that every mom, whether tried or new, struggles with trying to figure out how to make your child more independent. Mary Ellen is a great sleeper, but she uses a pacifier to get to sleep and I've been wondering more as of late whether to try and break her of that habit. So as I tried to soothe her to sleep this morning, I put a swaddle around her legs, rubbed her belly and shushed. No paci. It was taking some doing, but it was working.
Enter Mimi, crying, begging me for God knows what. And of course Mary Ellen startles and starts to fuss. So I shooed Mimi out and got Mary Ellen calmed down again: re-wrapped the swaddle, continued shushing and soothing. It wasn't quick, but it was working. This time, Mimi crept in more quietly. She sneaked up next to me, reared back, and made the start of a lunge for the crib. My reflexes kicked in, and I whisper-shouted "NO!"
And all hell broke loose. Mimi did the cartoon scramble as her claws tried to grip the hardwood, to no avail. She finally managed to high-tail it out of there, clacking and scrambling the whole time.
And poor Mary Ellen. She had obviously been in that little "twilight" time just before the hard sleep came. She was totally relaxed and had her defenses down, and I basically screamed in her ear. I've never seen her get so upset - not even with the shots.
Mary Ellen screamed (SCREAMED) for 30 minutes. So much for trying to skip the paci today. There's always tomorrow, right?
Lesson of the day: Be sure the door is latched when trying to put the baby to sleep.
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Just a thought: don't worry about the paci yet - she's sooo young. General consensus is it's much easier to get rid of a paci than it is to stop a thumb sucker. I was dead set against it at first but then had so many times when I was so glad it helped him (airplane trips, medical procedures, etc). Weaned him off during waking hours at age one, then stopped nighttime use at two. Crying it out was just not an option for us for several reasons, one of which was screaming for more than 45 minutes and vomiting. Weaning off was a piece of cake, and there were no further issues. My two bits, take 'em or leave 'em! :-)
ReplyDeleteBecky
Thanks, Becky. You're right about the paci. She's so young, and we've got a plane trip next week. What was I thinking? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a dramatic day! Poor girls (M. and M.E.)
ReplyDeleteAwww, that does sound dramatic! Poor Mary Ellen for getting the daylights scared out of her, Mimi for being so needy and not understanding, and for you for having to be in the middle of it all! And I definitely agree with all that Becky said. I miss you!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your rough morning! Hope Mimi settles down so you can have a more relaxing afternoon.
ReplyDelete