Blizzard #3

Sweet little face!

Sleeping with her mouth open, just like her momma!

If you’ve been following the news, you probably know that DC is currently getting blasted with its third blizzard of the season. Outside is a sheer white-out—we wouldn’t even have a prayer of finding our car in the parking lot right now. The wind is blowing like crazy, making the snow violently swirl sideways. I’ve never seen anything like it! I’d take a picture, but it would just be . . . white. The night before last was a bit challenging. Okay, it was a lot challenging. At about 3:00 a.m., Charlotte became very, very fussy. She didn’t want to sleep, she didn’t want to cuddle, she didn’t want to be rocked, she didn’t want to be walked around, she didn’t want to be bounced, she didn’t need her diaper changed, and she definitely didn’t want to nurse. (Chris slept soundly through all this drama, by the way. No, I’m not bitter.) By about 6:00 a.m., I was walking my squalling infant around the living room (in tears myself, of course), when my mom emerged from the guest bedroom. She offered to take my cranky infant and I happily handed her over, told her where she could find a bottle of breast milk should Charlotte magically become hungry again, and to bed I went. About an hour or two later, Charlotte started having quite the bout of diarrhea (motherhood is SO glamorous, I’m learning), which explained her fussiness. Her tummy hurt! She went through diaper after diaper, and I figured the digestive culprit was the cabbage I had eaten the night before. I. Felt. Awful. I had caused her to be so uncomfortable! As everything was running its course, Charlotte continued to fuss. Finally, I gave the American Academy of Pediatrics the proverbial finger and gave my child a pacifier. Yes, I know that you’re not supposed to introduce a pacifier until after at least a month of breastfeeding, but her tummy clearly was hurting her and the pacifier gave her a way to soothe herself, especially since she wasn’t willing to nurse and you can’t exactly give a newborn a dose of Mylanta. And you know what? She calmed down. And you know what else? Her feedings did not get at all disrupted by the pacifier. (Besides, Charlotte’s pediatrician is in favor of using a pacifier if an infant wants it, and there’s evidence that sucking on pacifiers reduces the risk of SIDS. So there.) Finally, the tainted milk worked its way through Charlotte’s system and we quickly resumed feedings to rehydrate her and get her digestion back on track. Last night, Charlotte had a great night, waking up every 2 ½ to 3 hours to feed and have her diaper changed—all with minimal fussing. She didn’t even bother to cry! And I cannot begin to tell you how magical 2- or 3-hour sleeping stretches are for Mommy. (Chris usually takes the midnight feeding/diaper change and I take on the rest so he can get enough sleep for work the next day.) Today, we start anew!