Coughing and Crying and Cobwebs - OH MY!

For many years I have heard women talking about "walking the floor all night" with their babies. Until this past week I had no idea what that meant. Sure, we've had nights of seemingly endless crying that went on for a few hours when Jake was first released from hospital and he was having difficulty and pain digesting food. But as soon as he was put onto a special formula that was lactose/gluten-free and also had proteins already processed, peace and quiet reigned once Jake had had his supper. Until last Monday that is! 

Jake had his first miserable full-blown cold. He was coughing, sneezing, runny nose and was generally out of sorts with the whole world. He wasn't impressed and made sure that we were as miserable as he was. During the day, he wasn't quite so bad. He could be diverted to think about other things for short periods, but once he went to bed, he'd cough and that would start the crying. For two nights Mikael and I took turns "walking the floor" with him. He didn't want to sit down, he didn't want to lie down - even in our bed, he wanted to be taken around the house. I swear, I must have walked Marathon distances those nights. From 8.00 pm until 5.00 am he cried, sobbed, sniffed, coughed and sneezed. If anyone was in any doubt if a baby lived upstairs in our building, they can be in no doubt now! By the time he finally exhausted himself out, I collapsed on the bed but my feet continued to throb for hours! 

On the plus side, after all those emotional hours during the night, our precious son slept late- as did his father - but I have deadlines and so didn't have the option of a much-needed lie-in. Instead, whilst they snored contentedly in their beds, I was hunched over the computer, reading the screen through narrow slits and drinking coffee to try and revive my half-dead brain cells and answer someone's travel query about holiday plans in the US. It was a long week. Once Jake started to go to sleep at his normal time again, I was able to put in some extra hours in an evening. The knock on effect of this being less snuggle time to spend with Mikael. This bothers me a lot, but we both know that it can't be helped. 

A window cobweb is shimmering at me in the early morning sunshine, so I guess I'll have to dust today. Housework was forgotten last week too - but hey, that's the one thing I haven't lost any sleep over!

Katie-Anne, 2001