Skip to main content

cold turkey



Tess has been pacifier free for over 72 hours.
I’m not sure who is suffering more.
Me or Her.

My little girl who used to go to sleep without even a whimper at 8:00 pm on the dot, now screams for over an hour first.
Even if I am holding her.
She searches everywhere in case she has just misplaced it.
Under the pillow, under the bed….hoping that she will find a pacifier there.
But mostly she just lays there and cries….….I mean screams.

Instead of seconds of bonding before bed we now have hours.
And last night as she lay there crying while I tried everything I could thing of
Reading, singing, praying, etc.
I thought about her loss a little.
And I was quickly losing patience, and lots of much needed sleep to this incessant crying.
Because to me, it is just a pacifier.
A baby phase that I wish we could hang on to for just a while longer…
But thanks to super sensitive skin and multiple ear infections the pediatrician encouraged us to let go now.
But to her it is her comfort.

And as she screamed.
I wondered if I should give something up too.
Something that is a bit of a false comfort to me.
Like caffeine or wine.
Or whatever your vice.
Books or blogging or facebook.
And I tried to pick something to give up.
Permanently,
and that was the word that did me in.
Because I can give up almost anything for a season.
But forever without coffee or cable and I just wasn’t sure I could do it.
I had a lot of time to think while she cried.
And listing my false comforts and facing my resistance to surrender them was not a pretty site.
I wasn’t that different from the red faced and snotty stubborn girl beside me looking in all the wrong places for her comfort.
So I held her and we cried a bit longer.
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you; Isaiah 66:13

Comments

Unknown said…
So sorry! That is a hard thing to do. You are really a saint to do this over your Spring Break though!
Sarah said…
Keep truckin', girl. They eventually move on. Eventually.
Margie said…
Oh, gosh, if the pediatrician hadn't encouraged it, I would've said, "Let it take care of itself in time!"

But goodness. You've got a lot to deal with now, don't you?

Wondering, as I type, if you're still up with her. I'm sorry you're having to this, Michelle. I know it's not easy.
michelle said…
thanks for the encouraging words friends...and yes of course...i'm still up, but shaun eventually got her to crash....but I'm sure she will be up again soon.
mommaof3 said…
Aieeeee-----this is not encouraging to me ;) We have another month before we give it up.

I, of course, love your analogy. Your thoughts always strike a cord. Thank you for sharing, my friend.

Popular posts from this blog

pace yourself

Tonight I went running with a friend ten years my junior. I asked her how far she was running and when she said only about 1.5 or 2 miles, I teased her that I could go at least twice that far. And to just let me know when she needed to stop. I have been running pretty regularly for the last few weeks. It isn’t long but keep increasing my time and distance. I’ve stopped getting blisters. I don’t suck wind after five minutes anymore and I was feeling pretty good about myself. Thinking I might even be able to out run this girl who was so much younger and obviously in more shape than me. As we started to jog I told her that I run pretty slow. Like my husband used to walk beside me while I ran, slow. And she slowed her gait a little bit for me but it was still faster than I usually go. I was a little embarrassed and was not going to ask her to slow down again. So I just ran at her pace. I stayed close. And was fading fast. A little over a mile in I was ready to quit. Again, pride, which isn...

pursue something else.

Americans like the idea of happy. of pursuing happiness. It is even one of our inalienable rights at least according to the Declaration of Independance. But I think maybe we should pursue something else. like love or joy or peace or contentment. and leave happy alone. Don't read me wrong. I am neither bitter nor cynical. Even my problems are good problems. I am positive. Half full. And most days I laugh a whole lot more than I cry. And simple things like a dance party in the living room, an hour alone in Barnes and Noble, the yellow pajama pants my son picked out for me for mother's day, potstickers, clean sheets, someone surprising me with coffee, jeans fresh from the dryer, a good song on the radio, or squeals of delight when I walk in the door all make my heart sing. They make me happy. For a minute. But when the squealing turns to screaming, my new pants are dirty, the sheets are in a jumble on the floor or the coffee runs out....where does that leave me? And happy isn'...

my first dance

My wedding day is a little bit of a blur. And it was a great day. But so many people and so much going on and so many moments that it is hard to remember them all clearly without the help of photographs. But I totally remember my first dance as a bride. And it wasn’t with my husband. Or even my father, or brother. I had quickly kicked off my heels and hid them underneath a table. Said my hellos and hugs and smiled until my face hurt. Someone ushered us through the buffet line and I piled my plate with hors d'oeuvres and headed to a table. But before I could pop a single shrimp in my mouth someone grabbed me firmly by the arm and pulled me onto the dance floor and into a jitterbug before I could protest. It was my husband’s granddaddy. A man I had only met about a few times and heard say about as many words. So I was a little surprised when he spun me around the dance floor. Eventually that night I danced with my husband. And my dad. And probably even my brother. But my fir...