Last night was a Very Very Rough night. When you capitalize first letters, it's because it's extra true. After spending the day with Ellie while Peter helped some friends move, my body was on fire in a way that's hard to describe, but if I had to give it a shot, I'd say it felt like you'd imagine it would if you were 7 months pregnant, up 40 pounds (yes, already. geez), with a stress fracture on top of your foot which had recently been re-agitated, swollen ankles, achy back and heartburn like a dragon's. Anyway, I was tired, and cranky because it was Sunday night, which means Peter had to watch Walking Dead, which is one of two shows of his which I not only dislike, but actually passionately abhor. The other is Game of Thrones. If you want to know why, please ask. I digress though.
Ellie would not fall asleep last night to save her little life. Man, she was wound up. Add to her excitement of playing with dad before bed, and a recently kick-started campaign to get her to fall asleep on her own, and she just wasn't having it. From wide awake and screaming in the crib, to a failed attempt to get her to sleep next to me in her new twin bed, back to the crib, back to the bed, etc. Fail - on all parts, especially mine. Eventually she fell asleep and eventually I did too (although not for many, many more hours and a couple of tylenol later). At some point in the night, she was up for an hour or so, wanting to play blocks and screaming at me once again for putting her back in her crib and refusing her attempts at playtime. (Side note - eventually Peter woke up and said he'd take over. Guess what happened? By the time he got out of bed and to her door, she'd fallen fast asleep. Stinker).
But, here's the real reason why last night was Very Rough. We have an 18 year old crib that she sleeps in. And no, in case you're wondering, it does NOT meet today's safety standards, and yes, it does indeed have not one but two drop down sides. And yes, an exposed steel bar thing with edges which could easily and significantly cause damage if a baby fell face first onto it. It's also LOUD and creaky, and every single time she rolls over, it wakes me up with it's creaky springs and rattly sides.
(side note - wow - we sound like awesome parents for letting her sleep in this thing for the last 21 months. But really, aside from the exposed metal, it feels pretty safe. And the rails don't spontaneously drop because they're metal and not plastic because it's old, and therefore actually safer than the recent ones which have been the cause of all the problems.)
Our bedroom shares a wall with Ellie's, and her crib is up against the shared wall. So, last night, with all her tossing and turning, and all my tossing and turning, I decided I was DONE with the old crib, so at 9am today, I announced my plans to schlep the whole family to Ikea as soon as we could get out the door, to buy a new crib. And, when I announce plans in the way I did today, along with displaying the lovely dark bags under my eyes, my husband knows to just say YES.
So, off we went, to get a new Ikea crib. They're small, cute and inexpensive, and I like Ikea. Peter's not totally sold, but he does have thing for these little gingery-graham cookies (KEX cookies) they sell, so he was game. Ellie thinks it's playland, so she was game too.
Problem was, once we got there, Peter vetoed the crib I had in mind. Needless to say, we walked out of there with the lamest reason a family could think of to make such an exhausting trip: two boxes of KEX cookies, a roll of chocolate cookies for Ellie (who demanded, er, requested nicely "MORE!" after sampling one) and a 6pack of cinnamon rolls for me. Oh yeah, and a $.50 hot dog (also for me) because, who can resist? Fifty cents, people! Plus, mama needed a little protein snack on the way home.
(side note - lest you think I'm all about only junkfood, my lunch when I got home was my newest pregnancy love: marinated tomatoes and cucumbers in a little rice vinegar & olive oil, and a tiny bit of chopped feta cheese stuffed into a whole wheat pita. Yum!)
So there you have it. Quality family time in a big, overstuffed, maze-like store, for $10 worth of cookies. Oh, and as I type, I can hear that damn crib creaking, signaling Ellie's imminent waking from her nap. We'll be off to Target this afternoon to buy one of their, Peter approved cribs. Thank GOD.
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