zzzzz

I told Josh today that I feel like I am just plugging up holes with bubble gum or something. Once I get one kid under control, another one sprouts another leak! Last night Josh noticed Murray (the dog) shaking his head and when he checked his ears, one of them was red and inflamed and generally looking icky. I wish he hadn't shown it to me, because it looked so awful that it took me ages to fall asleep last night because I felt so guilty I hadn't noticed it before.

This morning, I took him to the vet and it turns out he has allergies. He is currently on ear drops, ear ointment, a strict ear washing regimen, eye ointment, and Benadryl. Both of his ears have yeast infections, and his eyes and skin are inflamed from some kind of allergy. Obviously, what I really needed these days was more work for me, but such is life with 2 kids and 2 dogs. The "check engine" light to my car also came on over the weekend, but thankfully it was nothing major.

I did make what I hope is a major discovery for Josie today, though. Over the last few weeks I've noticed that Josie rarely sleeps. We might wake up in the morning, run multiple errands, get in and out of the car, drive for up to 20 minutes at a time, and she won't nap. Everyone comments on how alert and awake she is, and how long that alertness lasts, but it is truly excessive. Getting her to nap is such an ordeal- it can take up to an hour and a half just to get her to nap for 15-25 minutes. Bedtime is beyond absurd. Yesterday I started the routine at 7:30 and she was down at 10pm. By the time 10pm rolled around, I was cross-eyed from exhaustion, but I hate to put her down and go to bed immediately afterward. I need a least a little bit of downtime before turning in for the night.

Today it occurred to me to check the side effects for the ranitidine she has been taking for the acid reflux. Guess what one of the side effects is? Insomnia.

So today I took a risk, and didn't give her the medicine. She has been faithfully taking the probiotics for about a week now, and I figured that if she got incredibly fussy, I'd just catch her up on the ranitidine dose.

Miracle of miracles, she did great. She napped. Really napped, like a regular baby. First in the car, then in her stroller, then in her bassinet for TWO HOURS this afternoon! It's been weeks since she's taken a halfway decent nap. She was totally well-rested, which meant she hardly cried today and smiled repeatedly and easily. She sat in her swing and bouncy chair and didn't even scream! It was an excellent day.

Now, I know it could be a fluke, and trust me, I've been let down before when I think we've turned a corner when we haven't, but I can't help hoping. I know this child is dangerously overtired, and I HAVE to figure out a way to get her to sleep. It still took me FOREVER to get her down for each of those naps, and especially down for bed tonight, but at least I didn't have to do it 4 times in a row for a 20 minute break. Once I find some way to get her to nap regularly, then I can work on getting some semblance of a schedule and maybe she'll even start sleeping at night again! If I'm going to hope, I might as well shoot for the moon!