Saturday, January 05, 2008

My Nerves, They Are A-Frazzled

Becca is pretty much fully recovered, except for some fluid in her ears. We went to yet another pediatician yesterday (ours is on maternity leave). I swear this woman told us our child was never sick. She doubted she ever had a UTI. She doubted she ever had pneumonia. When she saw the fluid in her ears, I told her that it had been there for quite a while. She just kind of shrugged and said to come back in two weeks to be sure it is gone. So, stay tuned for an upcoming ear infection, high fever FREAK OUT. Can't wait.

Becca is back to her mischevious, smiling and clingy self. I would breathe a sigh of relief except for the fact that she WILL. NOT. SLEEP. I know. I know. The ears. But, still....I can't take it. I am somehow more tired now than I was when she was sick and I wouldn't sleep. She is waking up 3 or 4 times a night now. And, as I type this she is on another nap strike up in her crib, alternating between playing and yelling for the last hour. It reminds me of having a newborn in the house except that when she is awake, no one is allowed to sit still for more than 1 second. Also, my boobs are a lot smaller.

There is pretty much nothing in the world more irritating to me than a toddler who refuses to nap. Nothing. Not even puke, and I hate puke. I'd rather have both my arms plunged in a bucket of vomit right now than listen to her yelling when she should be sleeping. My blood pressure just gets boiling when she doesn't nap. Boiling, I tell you!

John says, "Just put her in her bed and leave her in there. Who cares if she is sleeping?" ME! THAT IS WHO. I care. I care a lot. Because I cannot nap, I cannot just sit and relax, I cannot read, and I definitely can't do chores when I know that she is NOT SLEEPING!!!! Also, when I finally get her out of her crib I am pissed. And, I really needed a nap today (see also: waking up with non-sleeping toddler all night long.)

Wow. Now that I've spewed all that venom all over the place, maybe I should talk about how I'm doing on my New Year's Resolutions.
1. No one can get sick. Current Status: Better, but needs improvement. Have a kidney ultrasound scheduled for Becca on Tuesday and also fluid in her damn ears and a likely future ear infection. No sleep.

2. Organize my photos. Current Status: Good! I bought a photo album today (will likely need at least 20 more) and started moving my digital photos over to my new external hard drive (Thank you, Jo Anne!) I can't believe I didn't have an external hard drive years ago. They are wonderful!

3. Get paid for being on the Internet. Current Status: What?

4. Eat more fish. Current Status: Haven't eaten any yet this year. Don't even have any plans to buy any. I did dump some ground flax seed in my oatmeal yesterday. Does that count?

5. New Resolution: Find a nursery school/Mother's Day Out for Becca for the fall. Current Status: IMPOSSIBLE. They do not exist for 2 year olds in the entire state of Maryland, unless I want to put her in a daycare center. I am not even exaggerating! I called a bunch of churches and asked about Mother's Day Out programs and the response to all of them was, "A WHAT?" I have asked mothers in my neighborhood and all I get are blank stares. Maybe I should look for some in Pennsylvania or Delaware. How do mothers in Maryland not need a day/morning out? HOW, I ASK YOU? Are they all super moms? Am I falling short somehow? Or, maybe their kids actually TAKE their naps instead of screaming and causing their mothers hair to stand out on end from their heads in a frizzled, psycho looking mass.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Try this link-http://trinitychurchdayschool.com/curriculum.php

-2 Year Old Explorer class
-15 miles away

John- ignore tuition prices. :)

Anonymous said...

I have experienced doctors like that. I go in running a fever, shaking, pregnant, and coughing out green gunk, and they say, "*shrug* It's cold season."

I am the same way with screaming-during-naptime toddlers. I don't feel like I got a break.

Katie said...

Ash...WOW! I searched and SEARCHED the Internet for stuff like that and couldn't find it! Where did you find that?

Anonymous said...
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Tracy said...

I am SO with you. I get SO pissy when my children don't nap. It isn't an issue too much anymore, though. I would be in a horrible mood and couldn't figure out why. When I did, I vowed to have my kids nap until college. So far so good! It might be a little tricky when Madison goes to school!

Anonymous said...

Nap time is an absolute MUST!!!! I can't stand it when Bo won't sleep. Ugh! So unbelievably frustrating. Speaking of which, he's in there flopping around right now, fighting it and uttering an occaisonal scream to let me know he's still awake. Thanks, buddy, just what I need.

justme said...

i am adding you to my blogroll, this post was so much of my feelings. i wanted to reach out and grab ya !! the nap thing...oh the nap ...i too went through the toddler not napping, while also having a colic newborn not napping. it was a LIVING HELL. I called it Nap Rage. as for the mother's day out stuff. i think the only thing i found when my oldest was 2 was a church that did mother's day out, otherwise everything was with her. i never did it, she finally goes to preschool and it is only 2 days a week for 2 hours, but it is GREAT. GOOD LUCK. hope you get some sleep soon.

Jen said...

Aaah, kidney ultrasounds. Good luck with that. Also, good luck with the parents day out thing. I can't believe they don't have any there. They are ESSENTIAL.

In the mean time, have you thought about transitioning her to a toddler bed? We did that with Kate just after her birthday, and put a gate on her bedroom door. Now, many days, she plays for 2-3 hours instead of napping, but since she feels like she has more freedom, she is happier and doesn't scream. Sometimes I am even able to nap through her "quiet time".

MaryB said...

I feel for ya on the whole napping fiasco. I remember those days well. My middle one didn't even nap well as an infant.

Love your blog - I'll be back often! I think we have loads in common.

Unknown said...

OK. feener, I'm totally adding "nap rage" to my vocabulary! It's nice to have a true name for things. Katie, I'm sorry you're going through this but it's SO nice to know I'm not alone. We're not having nap strikes right now but have gone through them in the past. I can't do anything but listen to him NOT sleeping and get more and more pissed too! Also, Nevada apparently has the same belief system on the whole Mother's Day Out thing. Called a few churches to ask about them and they all paused and said "a what?". There are days I truly miss the south/midwest. Hang in there missy. With all the illness I would have lost my mind a few days back. You're doing great!

Unknown said...

I thought I was the only one! I get SO pissed when my kids won't nap and/or one wakes up the other during nap and it's cut short. Ahh, it makes me angry. Olivia will be three in a couple of weeks and still naps well. But, fights it more and more as she gets older. Since Matt and I napped until we were in school full-time, I'm not too worried. But, I hate the days and, sometimes, weeks that go by when one or the other is fighting a nap. I cannot get anything done when I hear them. I'm so tempted to just turn on my Ipod and tune them out. But, oh, silence IS bliss! I look forward to the sound of complete and utter silence from about an hour after they wake up in the morning! So, as I read your post, I was so relieved to hear I wasn't alone. Love that you are so honest and open!

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain - Moms need a break! Maybe all the Smythe girls who treasure their precious sleep should have a long talk with Becca! If some of the men can understand this concept, surely Becca can! Jen's idea has merit. Do you dare try it? If it doesn't work, though, can you go back to the crib?

Better, yet!! Can we just legislate naps? The Texas legislature passed a law requiring that teachers provide a minute of silence every morning (along with the pledge of allegiance - to the US and to Texas!) Teachers love this - it's the only minute all day long that classrooms are quiet - well, in my classroom anyhow. Students, SILENCE! This is the LAW! Now, I think you'd need more than a minute - how about an hour or two? Let's get the Bushies on it right away! Errr - they haven't done much for maternal and/or child health in seven years - probably won't work.

Anonymous said...

Just be sure to get dressed first thing every morning -- in case you need to call the ambulance!

As for naps... It may be that she is just getting to the time in her life when she doesn't need them. (Even though you still need them.) My son stopped taking them in the morning by about 19 months. He did still take them in the afternoon for another year or two after that. The toddler bed and "Quiet Hour" idea might work. If you tell Becca she can play quietly in her room for an hour -- but she doesn't have to nap -- she might just do that. Then you can sit quietly, too. (She'll probably fall asleep, if there aren't too many distractions in the room.) If you can somehow convince her that it is a big girl privilege (for both of you) to stay in your respective rooms for an hour, she might cooperate.

Oh, well, this too shall pass.

Love,
(Great) Aunt Linda

Anonymous said...

Hsppy New Year Will Robinson

Anonymous said...

just put'em in front of the computer, and take a nap anyways

Katie said...

Nap Rage? NAP RAGE???? OMG. I missed that part, feener. That is IT! I am so happy to know what that horrible feeling is officially called. Nap Rage. Yes. Yes it is.