WHINING

:::deep breaths:::

Miles has been very challenging for the past few days. On Sunday I was alone and we had a good day, up through dinner. He tried green beans and we both enjoyed that. I gave him a bath which is always a pleasant time. From there everything dissolved.

Sparing you the dirty details, he was just fussy. I can handle crying, but I have to tell you, the sound that drives me to the brink of insanity is WHINING. And Miles WHINES so much when he's fussy. This seems evolutionarily disadvantageous for babies; most of the things they do are designed to get grownups to help and care for them. But 4 out of 5 parents would agree that the sound of whining makes them want to either scream or run far far away. The 5th parent wants to run screaming, far far away.

Yesterday was torturous, even though Mr. I was here. Miles's morning nap was cut short by the dog barking at some stupid thing. Eventually the WHINING set in again and Mr. I was running an errand, so I fled the house - with Miles. I got gas, an oil change, and ran a work errand. Anything to get out of the house. I was planning to head to the park but then a friend said we could meet up later and go to a lakeside beach, so we headed home for lunch and a nap. Which lasted, ohhhh 15 minutes?

Later, my friend flaked on the beach. And Mr. I was napping. And there was WHINING. So I went to the park with Miles even though, like every day here in Nebraska in summer, it was about 1000 degrees and humid.

I put Miles in the swing for the first time, and he just slumped over all drowsy and hot. Fun. So I put him in the grass and he enjoyed that for a while until 15 minutes later when it was time for some more WHINING.

So instead of Miles's usual bedtime of 8pm, he fell asleep in his swing at 6:30 after his dinner and nap. About a half hour into that someone came to the door and the dog started barking his head off, which caused me to RUN to the door stage-whispering a stream of obscenities WHY GOD WHY DO YOU HATE ME???? But luckily Miles went back to sleep despite this.

He slept until we were ready for bed, woke up briefly to nurse, and kept sleeping. Yay. But then. From about 8pm to 2am when Mr. I got up for work, Miles woke up wailing about 10 times. Not hungry, just crying. I was so crazed with fatigue all I could do was curse like a sailor, which I'm not proud of, but honestly....

My friends, I am losing my mind. I don't know what's wrong with my kid. His first two teeth are through the gums and he isn't drooling and I don't think it's time for the top teeth, so I'm not blaming teething. Maybe he is so close to crawling that his sleep is messed up. Maybe it's the heat, the neverending, brain-melting heat. Maybe it's Mr. I's snoring waking up the baby. I don't know. I have no idea. I don't know how to stop the WHINING or help him sleep better. Maybe I am overreacting to two bad days, but being awoken from much-needed sleep 25 times a night can make a person a little overwrought. After Mr. I went to work Miles slept better but I was plunged into insane, weird, sci-fi nightmares for the rest of the night that were not terribly restful.

It's one of those days where I guiltily enjoy dropping him off at daycare and going to work. Even better, I have a late start at work so I've had this hour to myself to decompress. Maybe by the time I pick him up this afternoon he will be more himself again.