Meet Jake Anthony: Paci Crisis!!!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Paci Crisis!!!

When I picked up Jake from camp tonight I could tell it was going to be one of those nights. He was already showing signs of being tired and every little thing that wasn't exactly right brought him to tears. So, I was very intent on getting him home, fed and ready for bed as quickly as possible...before things turned ugly.

We managed to survive dinner (though he did cry because his fish sticks took way too long, according to his internal clock anyway) and I even bribed him into his pjs by baking him some cookies (yes, yes, I AM capable of baking cookies, especially the kind that come all ready to go into the oven...LOL)...the kind that say "you must be in your pjs to eat these cookies". Too bad (wink, wink) I had thrown the wrapper away before he had a chance to "read" that part.

Then, post-cookies, as we ascended the stairs, I heard this primal scream which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I turned to find that he had chewed just a little too hard on that one remaining paci and this time (cause God knows there have been many, many, many times when I've warned him NOT to chew on it) it broke. YES, the final paci had a BIG hole in it and according to him, "kept letting the air in" now. All I could think was "oh God, NO, I'm not ready"!!

Now, I must admit, my very first instinct was to go out to the car and find the spare one that I have hidden there...or the emergency one in the diaper bag. But, we've been working our way up to giving up this one last paci when he turns 4 in August and I just wasnt sure it was the right thing to do to magically "find" one at this point in time?!?!?!?

So, we go through out bedtime routine...brush teeth, read books, put my ipod in the player and start up his bedtime playlist and into bed he goes with the broken paci. After about 30 seconds that paci was thrown across the room and a NON STOP, broken record like series of "momma, paci...momma, go buy me a new one...momma, call nanny and see if she has one, ask her to bring it to me, momma, paci, paci, paci...and on and on and on". Even the waddle wasn't an option or acceptable alternative.

So, what, you may ask goes through a (very tired) mommy's mind during a time like this...well, at certain low points, I found myself thinking..."oh, hell, he's likely going to need braces anyway, so what's the big deal"..."what's more important holding to my principles about this paci thing or having ANY chance to get some sleep tonight?!?!?..."nobody ever walked down the aisle with a paci in their mouth, now did they?!?!?"..."he's not 4 yet and we agreed he would give it up when he turned 4, right, so maybe I should give him one of the spare ones??"...All of which were immediately overshadowed by a visual of him, age 5, looking the size of a 10 yr old, with a paci still in his mouth...or a visual of him with "bunny rabbit teeth", as his dentist likes to call them...uggghh!!

After rocking him, rubbing his back, threatening him, consoling him and nearly giving in a hundred times over the course of an hour and a half, he finally fell asleep out of pure exhaustion and despair. Still remains to be seen if he makes it through the night without it and so I'm wondering if I shouldn't sneak out to the car and grab that extra one just in case I need it during the night?!?!?! Damn, I'm SO weak!!!!!

Not sure who's more NOT ready for this transition...him or me?!?! LOL First thing tomorrow, I'm going to get someone on my staff at J&J working on a nicorette-like device for "paci cessation"...maybe a gum and/or a patch or something. Probably need 2 in a pack...one for the mommy and one for the kid! LOL

Stay tuned to see how we made out...Our very first paci-free night in almost 4 years!!!

1 comment:

abby said...: Well, we gave in on the "ba" (bottle) front with Hallie (who was confined to using this babyish milk-delivery system only during naps and at bedtime) after she went on a complete food strike as a result of this new rule. So we have no words of advice (other than 'don't follow our example.'). Seems, though, that Lea is giving up her binky early on in the game. Maybe she can teach this skill to Jake and how to eat to Hallie. Or at least raise herself...LOL...; July 1, 2009 at 5:03 PM

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About Jake Anthony

Jake was born on Aug 19, 2005, he weighed a hefty 9lbs 10oz, was 22 inches long (before you say "ouch" it was by C-section) and was welcomed into this world by his mommy, nanny, pops, uncle JJ, LaLa, Aunt Bear, Aunt No-No, Aunt Amy, Aunt CC, Aunt Razz, Aunt Titi, Aunt GG and Aunt Tracey (soon to be Aunt Dana too). To say he was a "dream come true" would be the understatement of the century!!

I had always dreamed of being a mommy and for some reason, had always wanted a boy. (So much so, that I enrolled in the MicroSort clinical trial for gender selection and had the sperm sorted to increase the odds to 85%.) Jake was conceived using IVF and donor #1876 from Fairfax. The donor selection was a VERY serious process including a thorough analysis of every detail imaginable. In the end, the pool was narrowed down to four possible choices, and each of the Posse (his group of Aunts) had an opportunity to evaluate the bio and stats and vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice. The votes were tallied and actually, there was a tie between the one we called "Giraffe" and the one we called "James" (because he looked a lot like my brother). For the initial attempt, I went with Giraffe, but after no luck with 2 AI cycles, I switched to "James" (1876) and transitioned to IVF.

The first IVF attempt resulted in 8 eggs, 6 of which survived the fertilization process and 5 of which made it to day 5. PGD testing revealed that there was only 1 healthy normal embryo in the mix and luck would have it, it was a boy! The pregnancy, however, lasted only 8 weeks before I was told it was a non-progressing pregnancy. After that VERY big disappointment and weeks of waiting (and a DNC...uggh), I had the opportunity to try again.

This time, I was rushed in at day 3 and told that the 3 remaining fertilized eggs would not make it to day 5. The absolutely FUNNIEST part of this whole story involved my mom. I had not planned to go to have the procedure on Day 3, so my mom and I had to scramble to get there. (I received the message so late that they actually had to stay open late for me and I had to drive up from South Jersey 3 hours to get there....talk about driving at the speed of light.)

So, my mom meets me and we drive up together and on the way up I tell her "mom, no matter what they say, I only want to put 1 egg back in. I'm having this baby on my own and we already have a strong history of twins in the family and I don't want to risk ending up with 3! Mom, I really need you to be with me on this because they always push you to put more in to increase the odds of success." To which she replied, yes, no problem, I understand."

So, we meet with the doctor and he says, you have 3 remaining embryos, we couldn't do the PGD so we have no idea if any are normal (let alone the sex), so I'm recommending you put all 3 back in. My eyes open wide and I say "ALL 3????" I turn to my mom and she says "I agree with the doctor"...LOL!! And before I knew what hit me, off I went into the surgical suite...

And the result, is the most lovable, adorable, smart little boy in the whole world...hope you enjoy reading about him even half as much as I enjoy raising him...