Growing Pains

Kaylani is going through her own episode of Growing Pains (and I don't mean she's talking to Mike Seaver or his idiot friend Boner). At least, that's what we think she's going through. She's almost 3 months old (would actually be 3 months old today if she came out on time), and from everything I've read, she's going through another growth spurt.

Our initial thought was actually that she was teething, but 3 months is REAL early to be teething since a first tooth typically comes in the 6 to 9 month range. You can't blame us for thinking it was teething since she drools more than Daddy (who drools like a leaky faucet), she constantly chews on her hand (or her arm, or our fingers, or our arms), and she had a low grade fever a few days ago (anything under 101 degrees). She's also been fussy, not eating well, and not sleeping the 6-8 hours that we've grown accustomed to. But upon further research, it's probably not teething.

What it does seem to be is just another growth spurt. Signs of a growth spurt are being hungrier (which she is since she cries for Mommy to nurse her every 2 hours or so instead of a little bit longer), being fussier (which means she cries if she's not being held constantly), and sleeping a bit more (she's not sleeping as soundly, but I guess she's sleeping more). And, the main reason we think it's a growth spurt is because all of our books and websites say that it happens at 3 months.

Now, don't get us wrong, we want her to go through growth spurts (well sometimes Mommy doesn't because she's getting too big too fast, but that's besides the point). The problem with this latest growth spurt is that Kaylani has completely spoiled us over the last 3 months. We've all slept so well that having to wake up every 2-3 hours is painful. It's like we're back in the hospital those first few days. Okay, it's not THAT bad, but it's much worse then sleeping for an average of 6 hours every night.

Another downside to this latest growth spurt is that she was really fussy all day today. Normally that's bad enough when it's just Mommy, but since Yin Yin was here, it was even worse. Yin Yin being home with Mommy was supposed to be a win win for everyone, but it turned out to be a cry cry. Mommy, who was up most of the night with Kaylani, didn't get to rest during the day because Kaylani wanted Mommy and only Mommy. She didn't want Daddy's Mommy, which was sad since Daddy's Mommy wanted Kaylani's Mommy to rest so she could be a good Grandmommy and take care of Kaylani while Kaylani's Mommy rested. Phew...got all that?

Anyways, we're hoping that the growth spurt wraps up soon and Kaylani gets back to her regularly scheduled routine. Actually, it will be a slightly different routine since tonight marks the first night that she's going sleep completely unswaddled. She won't even have a blanket, but instead is all tucked into a one piece sleep sack. You can see pictures of it tonight, but only a few since it was bedtime and not picture time. And we're about to find out what type of night it is since Kaylani's done nursing for now. We sure hope that a sleep sack is every bit as comforting as an old fashioned swaddle. The only thing we're sure of at this point is that it was a whole lot easier to get her into it, and a whole lot harder for her to get out of it. For now at least.

Divide and Conquer

It's been 11 weeks, and I've yet to spend more than 2 hours alone with Kaylani. Because of that, I haven't had to deal with any of Kaylani's fussiness or tantrums by myself. Whenever they happen with me, usually Mommy will come to the rescue and nurse her. For the most part, she only freaks out when she's hungry or tired, and for us, those two things typically go together. And until Daddy can produce milk from his breasts, those two things are associated with Mommy.

One of these days, Daddy is going to take care of Kaylani by himself for an extended period of time so Mommy can get a break and do something for herself. And when that day comes, then I may be able to understand what Mommy goes through on a daily basis. But until then, I can only listen compassionately when I come home from work and hear those four somber words: "It was a bad day."

A bad day for Mommy typically consists of general fussiness, which means Kaylani won't eat properly, she won't stay alone, and she will just cry a lot. When that happens, it also means that Mommy can't eat properly, can't be alone, and she might cry a little. Those are the days that I wish I could do something to help out, but unfortunately, there's little I can do from the office.

But the funny thing is (not funny "haha," but funny "awww, that's sad") is that as soon as Daddy comes home, things will be alright again. Kaylani will be napping, or have just fallen asleep, and when she wakes up, she's back to being a perfect little angel. She'll smile and she'll play. She'll even nurse properly and then let us know she's ready for bed and go to sleep. It's as if it was a brand new day, except that Mommy is still tired and still a bit stressed out.

So it seems to us that Kaylani has learned to divide and conquer. When she has both Mommy and Daddy with her, she'll behave for the most part, and calm down relatively quick. But when it's just Mommy, all bets are off and its a coin flip as to which version of Kaylani she'll get. More often then not, I've heard it's a good day. It takes a few good days to make Mommy forget about the bad days, and they've got to be consecutive good days. Now, don't get me wrong, Mommy handles the bad days better than I could ever imagine and that's why I have all the respect in the world for her, but I shudder to think what consecutive bad days would do.

I think it's just a phase that Kaylani goes through. Actually, I HOPE it's just a phase that Kaylani goes through. Whenever Kaylani decides she'll take a bottle again, I hope that the phase is over because that signifies that Daddy's day with his little girl is just around the corner. And if it's a bad day for Mommy, I'm sure it'll be a much worse day for Daddy. It's well known that Mommy is the strong one in the family, but only time will tell just how much stronger that is.