September 12, 2007
Morning puke equals Mommy Guilt
Chris and I have a general theory when it comes to responding to Kaitlyn crying at night-if it sounds like one of those “I’ve woken up and now I think it’s daytime so come get me out of this crib” cries, we wait it out. We believe children should learn to put themselves back to sleep when they wake up, with one exception: if the cries escalate to what sounds like genuine distress, one of us will go in. She is very tuned in to her diaper situation, and when she’s wet, she wants to be changed immediately. As opposed to our boys, who woke up every morning wearing Pull-Ups that weighed about five pounds. I know, ewww.
So this morning around 1:30 a.m., I’m sitting here on the couch blogging (what?), and I hear a faint cry. There’s no real urgency to it, so I listen and wait, and then she goes back to sleep. I shut everything down and go to bed, making sure the baby monitor was on just in case. I wake up at 6:30, get Ryan off to school, get Nathan up, and then about 7:20, Kaitlyn wakes up in her usual way, by hollering “Maaamaaaa. MAHmaaaa.” Nathan says “I’ll get her”, opens her bedroom door, and then staggers backward from the door.
Kaitlyn had, sometime in the night or early morning, possibly during that 1:30 a.m. mommy call, thrown up in her crib. And then presumably, passed out in it. Oh. My. GOD. It was all over the blankets, the stuffed animals, her hair…I feel HORRIBLE! That poor baby, having to sleep in that STINK.
So tell me, what is the answer here? Do I get up and go in her room every time I hear her make a noise, on the off chance it might be puke? Because then, you know what’s going to happen-she’s going to figure out that noise=Mom comes in, so she’ll do it all the time and stop sleeping all night! At almost two years old, she doesn’t need a bottle in the middle of the night anymore, so getting her up means she thinks it’s time to PLAY and READ and WATCH DORA (“Boots!”). But then, if I don’t go in, what if she has puked? And by the way, she isn’t sick, so I wasn’t anticipating puke, or I would have been on high Sick Kid Alert. GAH! Help me, Parentopia!
posted by elizabeth from Table for Five
Posted by Elizabeth @ 3:27 PM • Relative Chaos
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September 12th, 2007 at 5:59 PM, patois Says:
Such a tough one for you. I’d still go with the plan you’ve got in place. Really, how often will a quiet cry resulting in puke? I’m thinking no more than one per child. But that’s just me.
September 12th, 2007 at 6:20 PM, Dawn Says:
If it bugged her she would have yelled for you more, she must not have been too phased by it, she might have even done it in her sleep…
September 12th, 2007 at 6:50 PM, Julie Says:
I’m with Dawn. If she’s so aware of her own diaper situation, clearly this wasn’t that big a deal to her. I know puke isn’t spitting up, but I’m always amazed that spitting up doesn’t even register with babies — it’s like they don’t even realize they’ve done it.
Thank god we outgrow this, eh?
September 12th, 2007 at 9:24 PM, Dana Says:
I can’t even remember what I’d do! It’s been so long since I had a baby in a crib. Dawson sleeps with us!
Thanks so much for guest posting, Elizabeth! I really appreciate it so much!
September 13th, 2007 at 7:29 AM, Mama Zen Says:
I’d definitely stick with the plan you’ve got, especially if it’s (generally) working!
September 14th, 2007 at 9:45 PM, AbsolutelyBananas Says:
wow, that’s a really tough one. I remember when CJ was little I would obsessively check on him, peeking around the corner and hoping he couldn’t see me, because we had one or two of the puking incidents ourselves. It’s a hard call. If you want to check on her regularly, can you orient her crib so you can see her without her seeing you?? Hang in there… it DOES get better as they get older!
September 18th, 2007 at 9:57 PM, Devra Says:
Okay, so I got here after the puke got cleaned up, which is exactly what I do at home when our kids puke. You see, I have an empathetic epiglottis. Now that I am here though, I will say Aviva answered the call far quicker when this post orginated on Elizabeth’s blog because Aviva can handle puke way better than me! If I were a more talented blogger I would be able to figure out how to do a trackback, but here is the link with Aviva’s Mommy Guilt absolution for Elizabeth! http://table4five.net/2007/09/12/morning-puke-equals-mommy-guilt/
September 19th, 2007 at 8:22 AM, Elizabeth Says:
And that is exactly why Parentopia is so awesome. Call for them, and they hear you from across the vast Internets, and they come and assure you that you are in fact, a good parent. Thanks again Devra and Aviva!