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Our progress on night weaning so far:
I declare that I have had it up to my absolute limit, and we're no longer doing this, and Danger Lad! spontaneously begins sleeping through the night. Two nights so far. Touch wood. Touch lots of it. Run outside, turn around three times and spit. Thank the deity of your choice. Thank the deity of *my* choice (which is all of them - deities who get left out get *very* shirty about it).
It's just that I'm quite certain that this is not how night weaning generally works. Imagine if it did. Imagine the parenting boards dedicated to discussions of when it was okay to make the declaration of had-it-up-to-hereness, how to make the declaration sincere enough to be effective, the shame of those who want to make it early and the self-righteousness of those who claim they never will, the please for understanding from parents who are genuinely tearing their hair at 6 months or a year... Just like parenting boards now, actually.
It often feels like there are two kinds of moms on the internet. There are selfless AP mothers who understand that, however awful the sleep deprivation seems, it is really a very short while in the life of a child and actually a precious opportunity to bond with their babies. And there are evil, way-past-mainstream, parent-centered moms who never miss a night of sleep because they take Ambien during the third trimester and either wear earplugs or have babies who sleep through the night on their own as soon as they come home from the hospital.
Anyway, while I appreciate the fact that Danger Lad! has cut me a break the past two nights, it concerns me that we're not actually night weaning here, in any way that's evident to him. When he wakes up at seven in the morning, I feel like hey, it's not night anymore, we can nurse. And so, to him, it still seems that when he wakes up, whenever that is, he nurses. I'm certain that this streak won't last (no prior streak has ever lasted), which means that some night soon, we will be stuck re-enacting scenes from the early life of Charles Manson. There will be screaming and pain. Martha Sears, Katie Allison Granju and Dr. Laura will show up in person to kick my ass, and I will have to take an exam or give a presentation at 8 in the morning that follows. During this event, I will hallucinate Dr. Laura standing over me with a cattle prod. She will not be wearing sexy boots.
In the meantime, despite my two full nights of sleep, I think I should nap. I should to into the Manson thing as energetic as possible, and clutching my copy of Operating Instructions to my chest like armor.
I declare that I have had it up to my absolute limit, and we're no longer doing this, and Danger Lad! spontaneously begins sleeping through the night. Two nights so far. Touch wood. Touch lots of it. Run outside, turn around three times and spit. Thank the deity of your choice. Thank the deity of *my* choice (which is all of them - deities who get left out get *very* shirty about it).
It's just that I'm quite certain that this is not how night weaning generally works. Imagine if it did. Imagine the parenting boards dedicated to discussions of when it was okay to make the declaration of had-it-up-to-hereness, how to make the declaration sincere enough to be effective, the shame of those who want to make it early and the self-righteousness of those who claim they never will, the please for understanding from parents who are genuinely tearing their hair at 6 months or a year... Just like parenting boards now, actually.
It often feels like there are two kinds of moms on the internet. There are selfless AP mothers who understand that, however awful the sleep deprivation seems, it is really a very short while in the life of a child and actually a precious opportunity to bond with their babies. And there are evil, way-past-mainstream, parent-centered moms who never miss a night of sleep because they take Ambien during the third trimester and either wear earplugs or have babies who sleep through the night on their own as soon as they come home from the hospital.
Anyway, while I appreciate the fact that Danger Lad! has cut me a break the past two nights, it concerns me that we're not actually night weaning here, in any way that's evident to him. When he wakes up at seven in the morning, I feel like hey, it's not night anymore, we can nurse. And so, to him, it still seems that when he wakes up, whenever that is, he nurses. I'm certain that this streak won't last (no prior streak has ever lasted), which means that some night soon, we will be stuck re-enacting scenes from the early life of Charles Manson. There will be screaming and pain. Martha Sears, Katie Allison Granju and Dr. Laura will show up in person to kick my ass, and I will have to take an exam or give a presentation at 8 in the morning that follows. During this event, I will hallucinate Dr. Laura standing over me with a cattle prod. She will not be wearing sexy boots.
In the meantime, despite my two full nights of sleep, I think I should nap. I should to into the Manson thing as energetic as possible, and clutching my copy of Operating Instructions to my chest like armor.
