Does This Ever Stop?

by Michele
(FIshkill, NY, USA)

My daughter was nice enough to enter this world in record speed. I thought this was going to be so easy, no long labor, pain was over quick, how much better can this get?

Well, I noticied right off that she seemed to cry more than my son, but I thought it was because she was a girl. While staying in the hospital, I elected to have her stay in the nursery over night because I knew once I had an infant and pre-kindergartner home rest would be scarce. The first night, they brought her in three times. The second night it was every hour on the hour.

I couldn't believe how often she needed to eat yet she didn't eat, she just cried.

After the last time, I slept for an hour or two and realized they hadn't brought her in a while so I went looking for her. I was shocked to see 12 babies in the nursery because when she was born there were only 2 others. I kept looking and looking and finally saw her. Instead of in a bassinet, she was in some contraption that was like a mechanical seat that simulated still being in the womb. They explained it was the only way to keep her from crying all night.

Still not getting it, I took my bundle of joy home only to find out she was going to cry every day from early afternoon until about 9:00pm. Every single day!! One night, after hearing my son scream "I hate her", to which I replied "well that's ok because I hate her to!", I decided that no matter what I did she was going to cry anyway so I put her in her crib and went and sat on the front steps with my son. We had a nice little chat he and I, and I told him, it won't always be this bad and said "I hope not because if she keeps this up she'll have to go back where she came from." I said "you know that's not possible." And he said "oh yes it is, why do you think were out here waiting for that big bird?"

Well I laughed and laughed and then he and I went in and tried to make her stop crying. And you know what, through her tears, she actually looked at her big brother and laughed. And that's when I realized, it's going to be ok!. 9 years later, it's perfect!