The Difficulty with Standing Still

Two things have become very apparent this week.
Firstly, that my daughter is very heavy.
Secondly, that I have a very bad back.

Lib, who has always been a really good sleeper is going through the 'I'mreallytiredbutifyoutryandputmeinthatcotIamgoingtomakeyourlifehell!' phase.

I can cope with this. It's a pain, but it's manageable. Of course, going back to not getting proper sleep is a bit of a shock to the system, but we'll cope. No, the thing I'm REALLY struggling to cope with is the need to be standing up, cradling Lib, until she falls asleep so deeply that it's possible to put her down. I've tried sitting down and cradling her, but no, it's not good enough. Just letting her cry doesn't solve anything. Lib apparently, like so many babies, needs to be precisely 4 feet off the ground in order to fall asleep. Of course, Lib's just cut another tooth, which isn't going to help.

This is becoming a real struggle though because my back isn't great anyway, so having to hold a 24lb child in your arms for about 10 minutes at a time, when you're tired and fatigued, is not doing either of us any good. Both Si and I are hobbling around in pain most of the time!

I did a bit of research, and it certainly looks like this is what most kids Lib's age go through. Now she's walking, she knows that there's much more that she's missing out on if she's in bed. I also think she's having a bit of separation anxiety at the moment. Si goes away on Sunday for a week, so I really hope she copes ok with it (for the time being, I'm not even going to think about what happens when me and Si go on our honeymoon in February!).

Anyway, today is a day for action I think.

1. Firstly, I'm going to keep everything as normal as possible over the next few days. We decorated the living room over the weekend, so it's no wonder that she was out of sorts, what with all the changes.
2. I've ordered a back support belt to hopefully make it less painful for those times when she needs standing up cuddles. Plus I'm going to the osteopath on Wednesday, so she'll be able to hopefully set my back right.
3. I need to put some new batteries in her mobile..she's always found it very relaxing.
4. Try and make sure Lib doesn't have a long nap this afternoon, so she settles a bit better tonight.
5. Make sure she doesn't have any sugar after lunchtime.

Fingers crossed!!!