The Rain Falls Not on One Roof Alone

There's an African proverb that goes something along the lines of rain falls not on one roof alone. 

Lately, I've needed that reminder.

We had a pretty big scare with baby Ingrid last week - high fevers, a febrile seizure, and a few tests to rule out anything serious. She's back to her normal, happy self. THANK GOODNESS. Turns out it was just a bug of some sort. And the seizure - a harmless, common reaction to a quick spike in temperature. I was changing her diaper when it happened. Like something from the Exorcist, it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I'm glad I knew what was going on at the time. And, I can't say enough about our pediatrician.

Now, Addie isn't feeling too great. She's got an upset stomach and an awful diaper rash all because about fifty teeth are trying to cut through at the same time. Each day is like a marathon - I just keep running until I reach the finish line. (BED!)

But even then, the race continues. Ingrid still isn't sleeping through the night. In fact, her sleep patterns are getting worse. I've read a million articles and books and blogs about sleep and they make me want to rip out all my hair. (Which is still falling out, by the way.)

Your baby needs to learn to fall asleep by herself.
Rock or nurse your baby to sleep.
Babies sleep best alone, in a quiet room without distractions.
Babies sleep best near their mothers, in the same room, or in the same bed.
Letting your baby cry it out leads to distrust.
Letting your baby cry it out teaches independence and responsibility.
Baby needs a familiar ritual each night - warm bath, massage, then bed. (I think mama needs this too!)
Blah, blah, blah.

In other words, every baby is different and nothing really works and you just have to try everything until SOMETHING works for your baby.

Phil is convinced she's never going to sleep through the night and I'm just taking it one day at a time. I'm also returning Bringing Up Bebe to the library because I've had enough. :)

But, like I said, the rain falls not on one roof alone. And in the scheme of things, none of this is THAT big of a deal. Everyone has it hard and some have it harder than others. And if curable sickness and sleep-refusing babes are the greatest of my worries, then I should probably stop complaining.
-L