Thursday, September 4, 2008

Ambivalence

I am really feeling ambivalent about this whole growing up thing. I desperately want my children to grow and become more independent, while at the same time I want them to stay small and helpless. Can I have both please?

At Izzy's 9 month check up, I discovered that he weighed 25 pounds and was 29 1/2 inches long - the 95th percentile for both. I came home and checked the weight and length requirements on his infant carseat. I discovered that he had exceeded both requirements. We had to install his big kid carseat. It was definitely a bittersweet moment.

Although Izzy is definitely growing physically, he seems to be stuck in a newborn nursing pattern during the night. He has been waking 3 or 4 times per night for MONTHS. My boy is 9 months old, so what is up with that? I am totally baffled by babies who naturally start sleeping through the night. My children think sleeping through the night is for suckers.

And finally, I think my 9 month old has colic. Is that even possible? All of a sudden, Izzy has turned into a whiny little ball of mush. He cries all day long. Is it teething? Is it separation anxiety? Is it an ear infection? I have no idea.

It feels like we are in babyhood limbo right now - unable to decide if Izzy is a big kid or a tiny baby.

23 comments:

amanda said...

oh honey i hear you...

on the carseat front - i had no idea she was past her baby prime. we too did the big girl carseat and i can't stand it :(

why, why do they have to grow up so quickly??

and sorry to hear about the little ball of mush..i am sure it's the teeth. i try to blame as much as possible on those silly teeth :)

btw - that seriously is one of my all time favorite pictures of izzy. such a sweet little love!!

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Mine didn't sleep through the night too easily on their own either. The biggest problem in MY house was that I am a sucker for a whine and both of mine cried in their sleep, ESPECIALLY my daughter, who still will here and there, but I have trouble ignoring it. :(

I hope it gets better for your sake!

Kris said...

I'm sorry, I agree they grow up to fast... and are just plain weird sometimes... Kalila's started waking up more at night to nurse too.. I think she does more now than she did as a newborn! I'm blaiming it on teething.. has only been a few weeks so hopefully we'll get it straightened out soon. (at least she's not screaming when I put her to bed as much lol)

Oh, and I agree with that other comment... that is one adorable pic of Izzy!!!

Anonymous said...

My oldest was a big boy too. Moved him to the regular carseat before he was 6 months old.

Do you think that Izzy is so "healthy" because of all of the nursing he's doing? I think that 95 percentile is great (Oliver is always in that range for weight/height) but you shouldn't have to get up so much at night. He's probably waking up to have time with you - and not so much because he's hungry. What if you started having your husband do some of the night feedings with a bottle? He may start cutting out those feedings. Just an idea.

(and I write this as one of my almost two year old twins sleeps next to me in bed - she is currently in a bad bad pattern)

As for the colic... I'd talk to your pediatrician. It's probably teething or just frustration with a developmental milestone he's working on. I'm sure it will pass.

He sure is cute though...

anymommy said...

Oh, both! I'll take both please. I really struggled with the same thing today. Thanks for posting about it.

I'm going to guess teeth?! Because my little guy went through the same thing about three months ago. He's 13 months now and sleeping through the night again. Hope he gives mom a break soon. He is precious!

Awake said...

My daughter went through, so many periods of not sleeping, and continues to, I can't keep up the particular reasons. Except, I'm sure she's just messing with me. :) But she did eat through the night until about 10 months (when we weaned from nursing).

This too shall pass...and then another question will arise overnight. Joyful, right?

He's adorable by the way, I want to squeeze those cheeks.

Amanda said...

With my kids i would blame everything on the teeth!
They do grow up so quickly, and i hope you can sort out his sleeping pattern.
Good Luck to you!
l,
Amanda x

Danielle said...

I feel you. I feel like Eliza is sucha big girl now...and I want my baby back. haha and at the same time I want her to start walking and talking. Eliza is almost a year and does NOT sleep through the night. She still wakes up and needs to be comforted all the time. He is such a handsome fella!

Mama Smurf said...

It's so hard when they can't tell you what's wrong.

I know many woman would cringe to hear another mother admit to this but I "ferberized" all three of my kids at 6 months old and they all slept like champs after that. I highly recommend it.

Just Jiff said...

Not that I'm an expert by any means, but I bet it's teething too.
Bayley is getting bigger and it makes me sad too. :(

Anonymous said...

I feel for you.....and I totally understand. Zander grew out of his infant carseat before he was 5 months old...that sucked!!!

He never slept well either.

I think the 1st year is just a blur. They go in and out of phases so fast I couldn't keep up.

I used teething tablets for Zander. Don't know if you ever tried them or not. But they seemed to help. I also thought Ibuprofen helped for a longer period of time than Tylenol. Teething sucks!

dani said...

christy, rice cereal, fruit, and breast milk shaken up in a big bottle (with the hole in the nipple made bigger) did the trick for us MANY years ago...
katherine actually started sleeping through the night at about 2 weeks (doing the same thing in a small bottle minus the fruit)...
love,
dani
ps they do grow up quickly; enjoy!!!

Stephanie said...

Oh look how cute he is!!!

I haven't had my own yet, but know from the two step-kids that our three year old is just now starting to sleep through the night completely. I think it just depends on the kid.

I am guessing it is teething. Maybe try tylenol?? Good luck

Laura Marchant said...

My vote is the teeth. My 6 month old has been crying off and on a lot more now and the doc told me last week that she can see a swollen area where a tooth is coming. He is also the same baby that was a awesome sleeper and now all of a sudden he wants to be up at 5:00 am every morning.

Antropóloga said...

He's still a baby. Just big. Like your other baby was. :) And like her, he will start to sleep better (maybe with some encouragement from mom when you are ready) someday. :)

Anonymous said...

We also had some of the same issues. I would say on the night feedings, should he be eating more at dinner? Try to give him a bedtime snack to fill his tummy, cereal...meds. I KID! LOL. Anyway, we all go through it, each kid has their own set of rules, with no damn way to download the rule book. You are a great mom, take the clues from your babies and do what you think feels right. 9 out of 10 times you are going to be spot on. Hang in there ;)

Jen said...

Coleton is doing the same thing sorta. For us I think I figured out that it is teething AND separation anxiety.

Oh AND he also wakes up several times a night to nurse. It's actually starting to annoy me. It's like: SLEEP ALREADY! UGH!

Dana said...

i hope you are out of babyhood limbo soon...

And I hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Tabitha said...

Oh my Goodness ~ be still my heart!! That photo is just the cutest ~ he is gorgeous!!
love and hugs XXXXXXXXx

The Blissfully Happy Housewife said...

I hear you...I often catch myself saying, "oh, I can't wait until Eva or Jaden does (fill in the blank)" Other times it hits me HOW FAST they ARE growing and I just want to shrink wrap them and keep them this size forever.

Great hearing from you again!!

Jamie

Anth said...

But he has such pretty, sweet baby eyes...

Miss E started sleeping through the night on her own, and I still can't figure that out. Just that it rocked. And somehow I hoped that would magically happen with Ace. Which it has not.

Becks said...

Oh Izzy is so cute! I love that he already weighs 25 pounds! Sophia weighs about 20 pounds..I think. She was 17 pounds on her 9 month check up.

That is tough being in the baby/big boy limbo. Hopefully his cranky-ness will pass quickly!

Chastity said...

I'm having the same thoughts about LG growing up :(. As much as I want her to keep growing and progressing, I want her to stay my little girl forever.