Disappearance Of A High Maintenance Prima Donna
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October 23rd, 2006
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Something totally unbelievable happened on Saturday morning. It was so amazing that we didn't believe it until today, three days after it started. It could after all have been false alarm. Our daughter, the screaming high maintenance Prima Donna, is totally gone. I don't know where she went but in her place we have a smiling daughter who doesn't scream, takes regular and frequent naps, show little signs of reflux, and sleeps through the night. She's possessed, but in a good way if you know what I mean. It's the most amazing change in a child I've ever seen. She went to bed as a Prima Donna and woke up smiling like never before. We officially have a new child and are ecstatic about it.
Annika has been having problems with reflux, colic like symptoms, and a constantly stuffed nose. She doesn't have a cold but her nose has been so stuffed she can barely breathe which obviously creates problems. We suspect this has to do with her reflux, which is ba like heartburn for babies. Acid from the stomach comes back up, which is normal to some degree, but for her it stays in the nose. reflux can be caused by a valve in the stomach not opening and closing properly but perhaps Annika's body has now corrected this. The problem can be serious but usually disappears as the child grows. Chances of SIDS increase which is something we prefer not to think about. We are not really sure what's going on but the change in her behavior is shocking to say the least. We are scheduled to see a specialist this week and would love to tell him that she's now feeling like a normal child. We're hoping he'll laugh his ass off we're even there and declares her fit. A few weeks ago we started using some drops to lessen the pain in her stomach and get rid of gases. The change back then was dramatic but she still remained in pain. Things improved greatly but it was more like a different degree of hell.
Like any normal father I take full credit for her transformation:-)) I think I sprinkled some relaxing daddy powder on her which cured her forever. This might not be the entire truth but I'm known as the Child Whisperer among all my friends. 
I'm like my father, I can meet a whining, crying, insecure child and almost instantly they will feel relaxed with me. It's odd and peculiar but a useful talent around children. On Saturday I got up at 06.30 with Annika to let Sandra sleep longer. She fell asleep in my arms and then continued to sleep a couple of more hours in her bed. This was already unusual. Fortunately she hasn't been screaming much at night, she's saved that for the days, but she's always been annoyed when waking up. After she woke up I chatted with her for 20 minutes and she couldn't stop smiling. Very suspicious, this has NEVER happened before. Sandra got out of bed at 10 am(!) and wondered if her child was dead or what the hell I was doing. You get the point. Things have continued along that path since then. Annika has slept from 9 pm to 4 am two nights in a row without waking up and last night she slept from 9 pm to 7 am in a row. Freaking unbelievable. I woke up at 6.30 am this morning and found Sandra on the computer writing emails. She was so rested at 6 am that she got up just for the hell of it. God bless her, the past two months haven't been easy.
Please excuse my positive babbling, I know it's Monday morning, but we're sooooo happy that Annika is feeling better. We know screaming is usually not dangerous but she's obviously been in pain since birth and that hurts a parent. I was chuckling yesterday while playing with Daniel in the park. He's not using diapers any longer and there is the occasional accident. He told me had poo-poo in his pants and I went to change him. As I was standing in the bathroom cleaning his underwear, with diarrhea running all over my hands, I still thought this was one of the best days in a long time. Daniel the proceeded to puke twice in the evening, odd since he rarely gets sick, but I still thought we had an awesome day. We're of course used to Daniel as the gold standard over how happy and helpful a person can be. After he puked his lungs out I started to clean it up. But Daniel loves to clean and he practically begged me to let him help to clean up his own puke. He continued to clean the mess up with paper, spray with disinfectant, and mop the floor. And he was happy as hell doing it. We don't expect Annika to ever be that happy but it would be fantastic if her stomach problems now are gone and she can start enjoying life. And it would also be great if her parents can have more days like this weekend, the most enjoyable days in a long time.
Have a great week!
That is so great to hear. There is nothing more distressing that a situation where you child is in pain and there is nothing you can do about it. Here’s to hoping that everything is now the way it is supposed to be.
I have found the hardest in the first months of my kids was to see my wife so tired and out of it. Basicaly, slavery to breastfeeding and doing nothing proactive from being so tired.
Seems your spouse is getting her energy back…that can’t be a bad thing… right?
AD, she’s getting so big and cute. Hopefully the reflux is over and your smiley baby stays around.
good for her and happy sleeping for you.
We have 2. a 4 year old (almost) and a4 months old (almost) and the sleeping habits are the one that can make or break you.
after almost 2 years of good night sleep, we are back waking up every hour and a half.
It’s crazy, makes us tired but since we have been there before we know it’s only temporarily.
Enjoy the silence.
Now that you’ve knocked that wood, keep an eye out for her sneaky return ;)
But, really, if the colic is gone, it’s probably gone. I’m happy for ya.
Nov 2nd, 2006 at 9:18 pm
[…] Posted on Thursday 2 November 2006 Last night was surreal. A huge snowstorm blew into town in the afternoon and people had major problems getting home after work. There was not much snow but the streets and highways turned to ice and all cars were stuck since most people had not switched to winter tires yet. My embarrassingly short commute of 15 minutes by bus took me over 90 minutes and I had to walk the last mile in my suit on the snow filled streets. The city had basically stopped, I've never seen anything like it. Keep in mind that Sweden is a Nordic country, we're no sissies, and used to massive amounts of snow and cold weather. As I walked into our place at 6.45 pm. the house was quiet. Too quiet. I looked at my wife with puzzled eyes and she just told me that the children were already asleep. What? At 6.45 pm? Happy days! We proceeded by having a few steaks, opened a couple of bottles of nice wine, and talked for a while. We're pretty good with taking time off from the kids, except the past few months with our newborn, and I was once again reminded of how important it is to relax and spend some time with the spouse. Without the children that I love more than anything in the world. I've mentioned this on my site many times before and also talked about it at The Blogfathers. It's in my opinion one of the the largest mistakes parents make after having children. They stop living and instead only live for their kids. You and I know that kids are great but we also need to keep parts of our pre-children lives. I need some time alone regularly from both wife and kids and I also need some time alone with my wife. Without it I go crazy and become a miserable asshole. We used to have babysitter night once a week before Annika was born and plan on doing that again as soon as she can survive a little longer without breastfeeding. Annika is now an absolute delight to be around ever since she was reborn two weeks ago. I now feel a lot more confident about Sandra leaving me and the kids alone and more often encourage her to get some time to herself. aniel sleeps from 8 pm -7.30 am without waking up and Annika now sleeps from 7.30 pm - 3 am before having some food and then sleeping in until 8 am. That means that it's just the wife and my every night after 8.30 pm. It's time that we both treasure and it gives us time to relax. I have friends who's kids don't sleep until 10 pm which means no private time for mommy and daddy during the week. Personally I can't handle that unless the children are sick or there is an emergency. My advice to you parents would be to schedule time away from the children every week. And all you fathers, step up and give the mother some time away from you and the kids. Encourage her to go out with friends for dinner, work out at night, or whatever she feels like doing. Take charge of the household every now and then before or after the kids are asleep and let your wife relax. If you're a SAHD you know how hard it is to handle the kids day after day, if you're not you should at least experience it for a while. Then you will realize why it's a good idea to send the wife to the spa or just away from the kids on a regular basis. Don't just think about it. Make sure you do it. I promise you it will be great for your relationship, the family, and the children. The two hours extra we had last night were soooooo refreshing. I felt it and I noticed it on Sandra this morning as well. It doesn't take much to recharge, give yourself and your wife that opportunity. Think of it as another part of improving on your quality of life. […]
Nov 17th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
[…] Posted on Friday 17 November 2006 My daughter must be psychic and she definitely doesn't want another sibling. Kids were in bed the other night, dinner finished, and apartment cleaned up. After some wine we were both on the couch starting to…… you know, get intimate. As soon as we touched each other we suddenly heard something from the bedroom. Annika was awake. We looked at each other with desperately as wife ran into the bedroom to quickly calm her down. She returned in a minute, Annika back asleep. We once again get together on the coach and we barely touched each other before hearing Annika wake up again. This time for real. Forget about sex, Annika wanted to eat. The most amazing thing is that Annika has not woken up one single time since her re-birth a month ago. She's slept from 8pm to 3-4 am every single night. But of course not on the night when we finally get together for some action after what seems like an eternity of no sex. Unlike many men, I've never been interested in talking about sex with friends. None of their business. But discussing relations during and after pregnancy feels different to me. It's more complicated and involves so many more factors. Plus the talk is usually anything but sexy. Perhaps it's too personal or embarrassing for most but the issue is important. If both partners aren't on the same level it will most likely lead to problems. It's common that men complain about too little, or simply zero, sex during the later part of the pregnancy and first few moths after. Personally I think it's stupid to complain. You've having a child, giving up or decreasing sex for a little while is a small sacrifice to make. We had some serious problems during this pregnancy and wife also felt like a whale. Sex was the last thing on her mind for many months and I don't blame her. If you're used to working out, being fit, looking good, and enjoying some wine, pregnancy can be a drag. It seem like my mind was totally prepared for having another kid. As you know, men think about sex at least 24 hours a day. But during the pregnancy my brain unconsciously realized that there would be no sex and simply turned down my sex drive a few thousand percent slightly. Problem solved, without even having to think about it. During our trip to Germany this summer, I talked to Robert about pregnancy and the first thing he told me was how great their sex life was during this time. I thought he was joking but he was totally serious. It was a funny moment and a great reminder of how different a pregnancy can feel for other couples. The most important thing seems to talk to your partner. Explain how you feel and what the expectations are. Men are often useless a this but it pays off to dig deep and try to understand what your wife is going through. It can be tough, especially since we all know the only way to fully understand a women is to be psychic:-)) Have a nice weekend! […]
Nov 20th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
[…] Posted on Monday 20 November 2006 Mondays suck. I hate Mondays. But I'm feeling pretty good today since we had a great weekend. Nothing special happened but things are simply going very well across the board. I don't know what the hell has happened to Annika but she's sleeping like a princess. Since her rebirth she's been sleeping from 7-8 pm until 3-4 am before feeding and falling back asleep again. And we though that was good. But for the past week she's sleeping through the night. 7-8 pm until 6 am, and then sleeping longer again. I hate stupid parents that brag about sleeping but since she was almost impossible to comfort during the first two months, this feels like a nice payback. Mainly for the wife who's the one getting up for every feeding and handling most of the crying.. Daniel is doing great and has once again breezed through a month of school sickness with nothing more than coughing and a runny nose. He's talking so much nowadays, you can barely tell we're teaching him three languages at once. He's even starting to pick up more English which means we have to be careful with our secrets. I just read an article which points out just how important it is for dad's to be involved in communication with their kids. "Daddy Talk Boosts Toddler's Vocabulary" reports that the number of words a father uses with his 2-year old will show benefits later on in the vocabulary. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that the number of words a father uses when a child is 2 might influence the child's vocabulary a year later. […]
Nov 21st, 2006 at 3:04 pm
[…] For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to give Sandra more time alone from the kids. It's now been a month since Annika was reborn and things are going really well. She's now easier to comfort and doesn't really cry unless she's hungry or tired. That makes it easier for me to sneak away with the kids for a few hours while Sandra enjoys some well deserved time alone. Or have her go out at night with some friends. But the mothers of the families we hang out with are so fucking boring, I don't know how they can stand living that way. […]