Skip to main content

Sore Butt

We all had a rough night last night.  Apparently, when Patrick has teeth coming in, his rear end gets sore ... I don't know why, but once Jen and I made the correlation, my parents told me that's the way it was with me ... way, way, way back.

He's got another tooth coming in ... and, both ends are in pain (getting better now ... rough last night). Trying to get him to sleep was challenging to say the least.

I had to pat his lower back firmly while bouncing hard enough to make my calves sore in mere moments ... I wasn't given the option of just bouncing him with my arms (he could tell the difference).  Anything else resulted in screaming.

As I finally got him to sleep, I was able to stop the patting and bouncing and sat down to let him get into a deeper sleep.  After about an hour, I put him into the crib ...

Then, as Jen and I finally laid down, his little head popped up over the edge of the crib and another scream of pain was let out.  Again, I picked him up (remember, don't touch the butt).  Bouncing and patting didn't have quite the same effect, but eventually he settled down and slept.  This time, I moved into the bed with Patrick cuddled on top of me.

He slept for a few minutes when the head came up again ... it looked like another wailing session. But no, he rolled to the side and fell into the crook of my arm facing up ... blissfully silent, angelic sleep ensued.

I held him until my arm went completely numb and asked Jen to get him since there was no way I couldn't lift him ... without dropping him (one arm asleep, remember).  He slept ... for about three whole hours, this time.

Again, he screamed ... I was no good this time, so Jen stepped in and tried.  After a solid thirty minutes of screaming, I gave in again and turned on the television, expecting to simply ride it out.  After all, I had to get up for work in an hour anyway.

As soon as the screen came to life, so did he ... issue solved. His head popped up, eyes bright and all screaming stopped. No issues since (and, yes the redness did finally fade).

I can't wait to see what adventures tonight brings ...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Terror or Anger

Jennifer and I woke about twenty minutes ago to Patrick crying ... nothing unusual. I asked her to get him since I have to start getting ready for work in about three hours (yes, I have to work on a Saturday). Where things became unusual was the loud, sustained crash, and Patrick's cries rising to a hefty scream. Being the concerned parent that I am ... with visions of his changing table collapsed on top of him, I rushed to their aid. "What was that?" I cried. Jennifer, weakly replied, "I fell down the stairs." With Patrick screaming at the top of his lungs, I think I actually asked her to repeat what she said. I found my wife sitting, with her legs out and my son in her arms, at the bottom of the stairs. Asking if she and Patrick were OK was mixed into confused questioning about what happened. Somehow, her feet went out from under her (we suspect a couple of the leaves that Patrick likes to play with were on the steps). While my real concern was i...

Building Character

... in my Child. I really don't want him to be a character ... I want to help him develop "strength of character." I have always enjoyed the challenges in my life, or more correctly I enjoy solving the issues that arise.  I love solving complex problems in situations that call forth my personal strengths ... ingenuity, imagination, teamwork, experienced judgment, persistence, and will power.  Every day at work, I solve problems through the exercise of these strengths.  I know that the greatest challenge I face will be raising my child well. Knowing this, I realize that there is no clear cut path that I can take when faced with the challenge of being a good father to Patrick as he grow and develops ... and no single correct path I need to take to "solve this problem." I need to remember, as Patrick grows up, to  encourage  him rather than being just a critic in his life.  I know that it is tempting at times to focus on the mistakes of others, whil...

Solo Papa

I have got my son by myself until Tuesday night ... not truly by myself, but it feels that way. Jen is at a conference from Sunday to Wednesday ... and I get to be a solo Papa! I do have to be at work at six in the morning and daycare opens at seven ... so Papap is pitching in to get Patrick to school. But, other than that, he is all mine. We had a fun time last night ... dinner with Papap, then he got hungry again once we got home (don't forget the pretzels he tried to get into ... all over the floor). We got a bath ... smiles and laughter all around. Toward nine in the evening, he was getting tired and obviously looking for Mama (who usually gets him to sleep). I tried all kinds of things and gave up after about thirty minutes and threw him  in the back of the car and drove around until he dropped off ... then, he slept all night! More fun to come ... one day down and two to go!