Snooze It Or Lose It

4 a.m. this morning, AR wakes up screaming. No, no, no! We have perfect babies that all sleep through the night! You are not allowed to start doing this for another three hours! Aaahhhh!!! I wait about 10 minutes, hoping, praying that she will just go back to sleep. You can tell a difference in a baby's cries, and this was a definite, "I'm-not-going-back-to-sleep-until-you-come-in-here-cry." Detatch her from her white-knuckled grip on the rails of her crib, flip her back onto her back, tuck her back in, push that white-noise maker doo-dad closer to her ear, turn up the volume, and go back to bed. She's still crying, but it's most definitely a cry that gives me hope. One that says, "I think I'm about to tire out and fall back to sleep any minute." I crawl back into bed, under my comfy blanket, nestle my face into my wonderful pillow, then my husband turns over and whispers, "Her cry sure sounds funny. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with her?". I was thinking Of course she sounds funny...she's mad, and when she's mad she sticks her whole fist in her mouth. You'd sound funny, too, if you tried to do that while crying. I then try to go back to sleep. I can't. She's still crying, still that "I'm-going-to-sleep-cry," then I open my eyes with worry. My husband is concerned? My husband doesn't worry about anything. AR was sick two weeks ago, she had vomit spewing out of her mouth and nose; a scene that would make Linda Blair proud...did he have any sort of reaction? No. His only concern was the rancid smell coming from the cushions of the couch for the next three days. He's a physician, so he really downplays those horrific episodes that cause most mothers to break out in hives and cause instant ulcers. But, NOW...NOW...he's worried. If he's worried, then I guess I should be worried. I better go check on her, I think to myself. I know...I know...you're thinking, "If the husband's so worried about the baby, why doesn't he get up to check on her?" Fair enough question. He had to be up for work at 6 a.m. Unless he's off the next day, or doesn't go in until later, I let him be off the hook. I get to nap while the kids nap if we have a rough night, so I think it's definitely fair. Anyway, back to AR...she had worked herself back up against the rails again, but I could tell she was tiring out. Is she stuffy? She sounded a little stuffy. A little hoarse? Well, wouldn't you sound hoarse if you'd been screaming your head off for 15+ minutes?! This is how it went...It's so damn dark in here I can't even see her. I can't turn a light on b/c I'll wake the boys. How on earth can I tell if something is wrong without turning on a light or picking her up. Fine, I'll pick her up. Nothing, I can't tell a damn thing. She does feel wet...well, since I have her up I might as well change her. I take her into the living room, change her, clear out her nose, then promptly take her back to bed. This screaming is out of control. There's is no way on God's green earth that this child is going down w/o a serious fight. She's not stopping until not only are her two brothers going to wake up (who, btw, are only a few feet away in the same room), but she won't stop until the whole neighborhood is wondering, "What in the hell is happening in that house?". Fine, I concede, I will get her up, knowing that I am just asking for it. Babies are a lot smarter than you think. I've found there's nothing wrong with her. Let's face it, she just wanted some mommy-time. You know what's going to happen? Tomorrow morning at 4 a.m., she's going to wake up expecting the same thing. She's thinking, "Hey, this is great! I cry and scream and mommy comes and holds me! This is the life!". We've gone through this once before - when she was sick. I had to get up with her then to feed her, b/c I was worried about her becoming dehydrated since she had been sick. Well, even once she was better, she expected to get up with me every night after that. We had to, what I call, "reprogram" (ha!) her to sleep through the night. A couple nights of the Ferber Method (crying it out in timed intervals), and she was back on track. I GUARANTEE she's going to wake up at the same time tomorrow. I would put money on it. Time to reprogram! She "got me" this morning, but I'm on to her game! ;)