Friday 11 January 2008

Controlled crying...day 1

It's 9:38 in the Controlled Crying house, and currently silence reigns, only broken by the weak strains of Heart FM drifting over a still wet kitchen floor.

Mum is in the sitting room, an evening glass of wine keeping her company as she hurriedly taps away at her pet laptop.

Dad is in his study, expletives flowing as he realises his newly bought PC is a dud and the company has gone bust.

Baby is in her room, quietly snoring and trying to erase the memory of her first night of discipline, hoping her parents will have seen sense and will tonight revert to the 'soft-touch style' she has grown accustomed to.

Little does she realise that a new phase has started. Controlled crying. Seemingly simple in its concept, Mum wonders whose crying is meant to be controlled (and how many glasses of wine will assist in its successful delivery).

Baby's crying is heartfelt, desperate, pleading, angry. Certainly not controlled.

Mum's crying is heartfelt, desperate, pleading and sorrowful. Also not controlled.

Dad doesn't cry but feels desperate, miserable and tired.

As the day's smiles and toys are packed away, the night's wails and tools await.

Baby: Teething granules; check. Bonjela; check. Muslin, blanket and spare grobag; check.

Mum: Ear plugs and eye mask; check. Tissues; check.

Dad: Battlestar Galactica dvd and player, headphones; check.

Let the battle commence and the tears flow, a harmonious family life awaits, and maybe even a previously uncoveted Gina Ford gold star.

Tune in for more updates from this riveting new reality household series...

9 comments:

Motheratlarge said...

It's worth it - hang on in there. You'll be able to reclaim your evenings. I remember how tough it is. And computer companies that take your dosh and palm you off with shoddy goods make me mad. Happened to us too.

Elsie Button said...

i have just been talking about gina ford too!

oh dear, i feel for you. good old gina ford eh. you either love her or hate her - i love her - thanks to her routines, betty has slept through the night - 13 hours - since she was 3 months old. people will probably totally disagree with me but i think it's definitely worth sticking with. Good luck!

PS what a great piece of writing!

New Mum in Town said...

Hi Motheratlarge - think you're right, oh and looking up on the computer front; a refund is in sight!

Hi Elsie - thanks, and yes, I'm now starting to appreciate that GF concept, having rebelled for 9 months, we're now realising that discipline doesn't equal torture...not for Iris anyway!

x

Iota said...

We did controlled crying with Baby #1 at 7 months. He yelled for 30 mins and then slept through for 12 hours on 2 consecutive nights, and then didn't cry at bedtime again. We felt so darn smug. Baby #2, at 10 months, yelled for ages at bedtime and again in the night, for weeks, until my health visitor who was 'supporting' me said "oh well, there are some babies for whom it doesn't work".

It's not magic, but it is a useful tool. Good luck with it.

I'm sorry if I always sound as if I know all the answers in my comments on your blog. I really don't mean to. It's just that it brings those baby days back so vividly that I find myself reliving them.

New Mum in Town said...

hi iota, no not at all smug, just further down the baby chain than me - all experiences welcome!

still trying to work out the point of the health visitors, nice as they can be...

Pig in the Kitchen said...

oh, and then you had to go and ruin it by mentioning the F word. The Ford word I mean! Good luck though.

I'm still reeling about the still wet kitchen floor...do you mop it EVERY night?
Pigx

New Mum in Town said...

haha, no, but I did mop it again tonight...

Pig in the Kitchen said...

But it was only 9 days since you last did it! A bit excessive don't you think? Iris has to build up some immunity...

Anonymous said...

We left it 14 months with our first.
Exhaustion meant we just had to do something, so I lay there watching the monitor on silent crashing into the red.
It toko 45 minutes or more the first night, a little less the next, and by the third we didn't much care.
It worked until the birth of baby number 2, when he relapsed into furious waking every night for a while.

With baby numebr 2 we did it at 6 months and it worked in one night.

It's hell, but statistics are on your side!