Mean Mommy

The husband and I have coined the phrase "Mean Mommy" when I do something to Harper that she might not like. For example, accidentally scratch her with my fingernail or put her down to play when she really just wants to be held. I always apologize to her and say "Mean Mommy is sorry! Maybe Nice Mommy will be back tomorrow."

Although Mean Mommy does make an appearance every now and then, I have become the bad mom that doesn't let her child cry. I've always thought I won't be that mom that will drop everything at once when even the slightest sign appears that her child might start crying, but to my own dismay, I have become that mom. I HATE seeing tears streaming from my daughter's face. It just breaks my heart. If the small act of picking my baby up calms her and makes her happy well then I'm going to do it! Why let her suffer, right? Well last night, Mean Mommy paid a visit and she caused some tears.

Let's first start with Wednesday night. This week Harper started this new thing where she gets tired around 7pm. (Usually she goes to bed between 8:30-9:30.) So Wednesday night she fell asleep in my lap and I decided to put her in her crib around 8pm. And what happens, she wakes up as soon as she's in her crib. WIDE AWAKE. Great now we have to start all over. I tried all my tricks and couldn't get her to fall back asleep until 11:30pm. So now I think, "Ok, she's asleep this late. She should sleep in." Wrongo. She was up at 5am.

Now fastforward to last night. Same thing happened. She fell asleep at 7:30, I laid her in her crib at 8pm and she woke up. She would not fall back asleep AGAIN and this time she was fussy. The only thing that would prevent her from crying was when the husband and I would hold her while standing. Since we got minimal sleep the night before, Nice Mommy left the house around 11:30pm and Mean Mommy replaced her. Mean Mommy decided to put Harper in her crib, close the door, set the timer for 15 minutes and see what happens. The first 5 minutes killed me. She was screaming. I'm just glad I couldn't see the tears. After 5 minutes, my sleep deprived body was ok with the screaming. I just kept telling myself it was for the greater good. When the 15 minute timer went off she was still screaming. "Oh great it didn't work," I thought. I went into her room, picked her up and she laid her head on my chest. I felt instant relief. I knew it was only a matter of a 5 minute rock and she would be out. And she was...until 7am! I may be inviting Mean Mom over more often in order to keep Nice Mommy sane.

Side note: of my co-workers introduced me to a blog that I have fallen in love with. Check it out. It's worth the laugh. People I Want to Punch in the Throat:: Over Achieving Elf on Shelf Mommies

Time for a little picture action!