I have to say, traveling with Kate has been exhausting. Travel day itself was rough simply because of the lack of naps and then being thrust into an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. But after a good night’s sleep she was doing tremendously well – napping well by herself, sleeping 12 hours at night, and being her usual, happy, outgoing self.

And then it all went to hell.

I started feeling sick on the plane. There is something about flying that inevitably gets me sick – usually I pick something up on the plane, but this time I obviously had it beforehand and the stress and dry air made me more susceptible to it. I can deal with me sick, though – it wasn’t bad, just clogged sinuses. I’ve been doing sinus rinses and taking naps with Kate.

Then Christmas Day Kate utterly melted down. She is not a whiny, crying baby, she’s just not. So for her to melt down crying every half an hour is highly unusual and very frustrating. We thought at first she must be teething, since there was nothing else wrong with her and she seemed to be chewing on everything in sight, amidst big crocodile tears. But then Boxing Day brought a runny, stuffed up nose.

She now refuses to lay down with me at all, even when she’s tired. Two days ago when she was tired I’d take her into the bedroom, lay down with her, give her her paci, and she’d roll over and fall asleep for an hour. It was awesome. Now as soon as I lay down she is thrashing around crying, spitting out the paci and snorting through clogged nostrils. We have to jiggle her to sleep standing up, then gently lay her down. And don’t even talk to me about sleeping at night. She wakes roughly every 30-60 minutes, crying, fights me, rolls around flailing, falls back asleep. Rinse and repeat until 7 or 8 in the morning when I blearily hand her over to Denis and crash for 3 hours.

She was adjusting to all these new people. But being sick and not being at home? She’s cranky. I can’t walk more than 2 feet away without her putting her arms up and crying for me. She will barely sit with Den for a while, and she definitely will not sit with anyone else. Grandma’s upset. We were going to go out to see a movie, maybe eat out… that won’t be happening at all unless she’s feeling better.

This sucks. This sucks great big monkey balls. I just want my happy baby back. :(

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

— Ruth Hulburt Hamilton