My Baby's Gone Mad

We have touted Thomas as being the best baby ever since the day of his birth. And up to this point, he really has been : so easy going, sweet, patient, calm. But now I am afraid I have turned him into a monster : cries, screams, crazy, won't tolerate sleeping or being alone. He seems to be (quite frighteningly) following in his big sister Laura's spoiled footsteps.


It all started shortly before Halloween when Tubby got his first bad sickness and ear infections. Previously to that, he had been sleeping through the night since before 2 months of age! The first sickness led to another, followed by another, then another, and so on. This poor kid (and Laura too) has not had a break for months now. This latest illness with the croup, and now very odd sounding cough (somewhere between croup and asthma), has really been the worst for him. Because of it all,he is in the habit of sleeping with me throughout the night, and it seems so cruel to put him in his bed and make him scream for an hour to put himself to sleep when he is sick and feeling lousy. I have just been waiting for a break in the illness parade, but none has come.


This dependency overnight has spilled over to our daytime hours as he is in the "stranger anxiety" stage. Every time I leave the room, he screams and cries, regardless of how many other loving people are still in the room with him. Most times, it is not good enough for me to just be in the room with him...he thinks we need to be attached at the hip. I figured at least I could take down the Christmas tree if he were sitting on the floor next to me....but no....I was moving from box to box too much for his comfort, putting things away. Last night as I was making dinner, he was sitting on the floor, and had grabbed my shoe laces, one from each shoe in each hand, so that I could not possibly move away from him. He has turned into quite the manipulative little munchkin.


Of course, the solution is so easy according to Bob...just put him in his crib and let him cry. But as the Mommy, it just insn't that simple when he is reaching for me with all of his might and the sadness is oozing from his eyes. He is DEPENDING on me to make him feel OK with his unknown world. How can I let him down? He is just a little baby after all!

Jonny's Cub Scout den is becoming my weekly escape....tonight I was thrilled to leave the baby behind, and sit in an hour long meeting doing nothing. Sure, there was still screaming, noise, yelling, and annoyances surrounding me everywhere....but all of that was tolerable since they were not coming from my own little monster lurking for me back at home.