Saturday, November 6, 2010

Shock and Awww

Shortly after the U.S. launched its Shock and Awe campaign in Iraq Doug and I received an urgent page from the news desk explaining that we needed to get to work immediately. 
It was just after midnight and we were in for the long haul. 
We were breaking in to taped programming and would be on air with wall-to-wall coverage for the foreseeable future. 
I'll never forget the astonishing pictures coming out of there and the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM that echoed after each air strike. 
Then... an unsettling silence. 
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, with the night sky lighting up.
Again... an unsettling silence.


Fast forward seven years and here we are, once again up all night, this time listening to the sounds of Shock and Awww
Mackenzie falls asleep without much fussing these days, but two seconds later she's screaming up a storm thanks to a big developmental milestone that I suppose I should be happy about: rolling over.
You'd think that since she's fascinated by this new trick during the daylight hours she'd be just as comfortable doing it at night.
Not so.


BOOM, BOOM, BOOM goes Mackenzie, wailing and screaming.
After doing this for four straight nights I'd had enough.  
Doug and I were like walking zombies and what good is a parent who's too tired to take care of their kid?
The solution was the dreaded "cry it out" method that daunts mothers like me. 
Five minutes seems like five hours and every tear shed is a dagger in my heart.
But enough was enough. 


So Doug and I spent Thursday night tucked under the covers, peering out from under the sheets only to check the clock to see how much time had passed.
One minute... 
Two minutes... 
Three minutes. 
"I think I'll go get her," I said.  But Doug held strong and told me to wait a little longer. 
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM went Mackenzie.
Then... an unsettling silence. 
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM went Mackenzie.
Again... silence.


This little dance of wake up/fall back asleep went on until 5 a.m. 
It wasn't nearly as awful as the early days when Mackenzie was a newborn and went through a good solid week of bad crying. But this was still torture. 
Your natural instinct as a mother is to run into the nursery, pick up the baby, and rock her back to sleep.  
Ignoring a cry doesn't seem so maternal.


Doug and I went on a much needed date Friday night and my mother-in-law babysat. 
Mackenzie slept through the night.
We're not sure if the "cry it out" technique paid off already or if it was the scotch that Granny gave her before bed, but something worked! 
Here's hoping we won't have to revisit Shock and Awww anytime soon. 



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