On Taking A Mulligan

This entire motherhood of mine (You know, all 7w, 3d of it.  I'm a pro.), I've been resisting a battle.  Not with Riley Girl.  I refuse to look at that as a battle.  But I've been fighting, all the same, and against engaging the wiliest of opponents - The Jinx.

This Jinx (pronounced: jinks) is not like his friendly, we-said-the-same-thing-at-the-same-time-so-"jinx!"-now-you-owe-me-a-pop-and-by-pop-I-mean-soda cousin.  No.  This Jinx hangs around every conversation you have, and sticks his obnoxious self into every good thing you say about your baby.  Everyone feels the need to remind you not to "jinx" yourself.  Examples include:

"She really doesn't spit up that much."

"I've managed to find time to shower pretty much every day."

"She should have about an hour left on that nap, so we're good."

"I think she's sleeping, I don't hear any crying."

For the most part, I've resisted him.  I refuse to refuse to say something good, just because of a superstition that then it will stop happening.  The thinking (and I use the term loosely) goes along the lines of "Yes, she really hasn't been spitting up that much, but if you point it out then she's going to start."  Because she meant to but forgot? Because good things can't last?  Because she realized a missed opportunity to be ornery?  (That last one could be attributed to her Daddio, but not to her, not yet.) 

Anyhow, last week, I mentioned to mi Madre that "We really haven't had a bad night yet."  As in, she's never woken up to eat at night and wanted to stay up and play.  And she really hadn't.  She never had her nights mixed up (for which I am eternally grateful, and which I attribute to my constant prayer while she was in utero, "Please, God, just let her sleep.").  I said it, and then Mamma & I laughed because, despite my insistence to not give into Mr. Jinx, we both sort of felt the need to say "don't jinx it!" after that comment.  Ha ha.  Isn't that so funny.  Gotta fight the Jinx, you know.

Ha ha. Ha.

Guess who wasn't laughing that night?

Couldn't you just die?
Maybe its just me, but she SLAYS me.

Since that night, which interrupted our 6-day streak of 5-hour stretches (if that makes any sense to you) with waking ever 3 hours, it's been a crapshoot up in here.  One night, she woke every 4 hours.  The next, only once, with a 5-hour stretch on either side.  The next, she Slept. Through. The. Night, y'all.  Ah-mazing.  This was then quickly followed by waking every 3 hours, with an hour of "But I don't wanna sleep!" yelling from 3a-4a.  There's no predictability, despite the (admittedly neurotic) schedule I've had her on.  Same wake-up time every day.  3 hours between feedings.  Down by 7:30.  Dream feed at 9:25.  All of this careful planning doesn't seem to affect her middle-of-the-night wake-ups.  

So today, we're taking a mulligan.  In case you don't golf, a mulligan is when you can't find your ball/hit your ball into a terrible spot, so you add an extra stroke to your score, and drop your ball in a more convenient place (that's a loose translation from Golf Digest, I promise.  Not really.).  Today, we're taking a mulligan with the naps.  I had been waking my darling angel like clockwork.  I'd be all, "Hey Riley Girl!  Time to wake up!  It's been 2 hours and 53 minutes since you last ate!  Aren't you excited to wake up?!" and she'd be all like,

'scuse me?

Are you talking to me?

Are YOU?
 Talkin' to ME?

I aughta punch you, mother, right in the mouth for waking me up.

Today, I'm letting her go.  Dropping the ball, but on purpose.  To see what sort of schedule her little body would like to be keeping.  I mean, I totally made up the 3-hour thing.  No reason not to change and make up something different.  Besides, starting tomorrow, we're going to be visiting relatives and introducing Riley Girl to all sorts of germs and strange people, with no regimented schedule in sight.  Figured all of my (admittedly, again, neurotic) planning is going to fall apart anyhow, and the nights can't be any more chaotic (JINX!), may as well embrace it.

Have you taken a mulligan recently?  Do you have better captions for those 4 photos?  Either way, I'd love to hear from you!

<3 M.