Working for a Living
The day that I have dreaded for the past few weeks has finally come – today John returned to work from his paternity leave. We’ve spent the last three weeks learning how to care for Lana together, and during that time we developed a good tag team approach that will be sorely missed with John back at work.
John’s ability to soothe Lana was put to the test during her second week of life, when we were introduced to what we now call “The Rage.” Episodes of The Rage began to take place in the late evening, just as we were attempting to feed Lana and get her ready for bed. For several nights, The Rage lasted over five hours and left us exhausted, frustrated, and concerned that we may have inadvertently brought home a devil baby. We tried anything and everything to calm Lana during these episodes, including putting her in her swing, in her stroller, and even in her car seat on top of the dryer. She would fall asleep just long enough for us to stop holding our breath, and then our breathing would annoy her and she would wake up even more enraged.
The following chart illustrates the Lana Rage Level Alert that can be used to define a good and bad day in the Mayes household:
John will forever be my hero for figuring out how to move Lana from Rage Level Severe to Low by swinging her in her car seat until she calms down enough to move her to the swing. This technique is back-breaking and has very little margin for error, but it’s better than developing ear cancer from prolonged exposure to Lana’s screams.
Luckily, we survived John’s first day back at work with only a temporary foray into Rage Level High and lots of continued assistance from my Mom. I know that there will still be some hard days ahead of me, but this is my full-time job for the next two months. I recently found a post from one of my favorite mom blogs that perfectly describes the job of a new mother:
“It is the most difficult job I have ever had, a job where my boss calls at least twice during the middle of the night, a job where my boss has to approve my bathroom breaks. I have a job where I am required to wipe my boss’s ass. And not only am I really good at it, but I am also stupid enough to love it."
John’s ability to soothe Lana was put to the test during her second week of life, when we were introduced to what we now call “The Rage.” Episodes of The Rage began to take place in the late evening, just as we were attempting to feed Lana and get her ready for bed. For several nights, The Rage lasted over five hours and left us exhausted, frustrated, and concerned that we may have inadvertently brought home a devil baby. We tried anything and everything to calm Lana during these episodes, including putting her in her swing, in her stroller, and even in her car seat on top of the dryer. She would fall asleep just long enough for us to stop holding our breath, and then our breathing would annoy her and she would wake up even more enraged.
The following chart illustrates the Lana Rage Level Alert that can be used to define a good and bad day in the Mayes household:
John will forever be my hero for figuring out how to move Lana from Rage Level Severe to Low by swinging her in her car seat until she calms down enough to move her to the swing. This technique is back-breaking and has very little margin for error, but it’s better than developing ear cancer from prolonged exposure to Lana’s screams.
Luckily, we survived John’s first day back at work with only a temporary foray into Rage Level High and lots of continued assistance from my Mom. I know that there will still be some hard days ahead of me, but this is my full-time job for the next two months. I recently found a post from one of my favorite mom blogs that perfectly describes the job of a new mother:
“It is the most difficult job I have ever had, a job where my boss calls at least twice during the middle of the night, a job where my boss has to approve my bathroom breaks. I have a job where I am required to wipe my boss’s ass. And not only am I really good at it, but I am also stupid enough to love it."
posted by Guest at Tuesday, September 19, 2006
1 Comments:
I know it is hard to picture it now but it does get better. Also, just when you think you have it figured out it all changes again. As is the case with Jaxson. Hang in there the best is yet to come.
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