Mommy Mess-Ups

Hazardous french fry


Everyone talks about this instinct that mothers have. I'm not sure if I have one, or if I do, it's in its infant stages and seriously smothered by all the frivolous thoughts running around in my head. Or maybe we should just call this mommy instinct "common sense". An example of my lack of motherly instinct would have to be when I handed Ava a piping hot french fry at a restaurant. I had a feeling that even though the outside of the french fry was at a moderate temperature, the inside was probably too hot. Yet I still handed it to her. What is wrong with me? I think I was so anxious for her to consume some high caloric food. Of course she screamed "BLAH!" at the top of her lungs when she put it in her mouth and everyone in the restaurant turned and looked at us while Ava rubbed her poor mouth.



Get some gates already!


I was feeling particularly miserable one night because of my non-stop snot flowage, so as I was climbing on the kitchen counter to get to the medicine cabinet (I think I should invest in a stool before I kill myself climbing countertops), I heard a really loud thump and wailing. I ran over to wherever Ava was...and she was lying face down on the stairwell. I have no idea how many steps she had fallen, but I mean, it was a thunderous thump! I comforted her and she calmed down when she started nursing. I put her to bed and called the pediatrician's number and a nurse answered for any afterhours questions. I explained the situation and the nurse instructed me to shine a flashlight into each of Ava's eyes in the dark to see if the pupils constrict. This was one of the things on the checklist to check for brain injury. As I desperately tried to shine a flashlight into Ava's eyes while she was sleeping, she woke up and was furious and kept batting the flashlight away. I had to call David to finish the job. He was at a friend's house for a much needed session of "manversation" or "man-time" and violent movies. Once he rushed home he was able to confirm that both pupils constricted and that nothing seemed wrong with little Ava.



Sleepless Nights



I categorize David and I not getting decent sleep to something that I've done wrong along the way. Everything some sleep experts say not to do has been done by yours truly. I'm sure bringing a baby into the bed to nurse in the middle of the night isn't against the rules in some peoples' book. But all I know is, something isn't working right with Ava's sleeping habits. She's addicted to nursing at night and sometimes insists on it 3-4 times a night. It's like I'm dealing with a newborn...but a very sassy one at that. One that can throw herself backwards in protest if you don't feed her pronto. Sometimes she bumps her head on the headboard while thrashing around on the bed, thus escalating her wrath. So, I'm starting to get desperate...but not quite desperate enough to do the cry it out thing. Well, I sort of let her cry when I bring her into our room on the nights when I don't feel like being her pacifier. I try to comfort her and pat her back and not nurse her. All the while she is screaming and David leaves to go sleep in another room while Ava and I battle it out. She usually wins...Something that David and I say a lot is "with our next one, we're going to do things differently."