After breastfeeding my 3-month-old daughter, I sang all the songs in the world, while patting her back and walking up and down just to get her to burp and sleep. My baby finally fell asleep. I was very happy. If you have had a baby before, you know how that feels when your baby finally falls asleep-like winning a jackpot!
Being over-helpful
But just when I was putting her in the cot, I noticed that her diaper was wet. Being a very caring mother, I decided to change it. I did that as carefully as possible to ensure that she wouldn’t wake up.
While at it, I felt a strong urge to cough but knowing that could wake her, I suppressed it. Soon there were tears running down my cheeks. I was not actually crying. You know how it is when you really need to cough out but you have to cough in? Ahaa, that is what I am talking about. Well, thankfully I was done, and my little angel was still asleep. I felt on top of the world because that meant an opportunity for me to have a good sleep too.
Oh, her buttons were undone. Being a good mother let me close it. That was when my baby who had been sleeping woke up!
Singing: sleep, my baby
I immediately tried to use all my coaxing skills-singing, walking up and down, rocking, just to get her to sleep but to no avail. She just kept looking at me and smiling. Mummy was in trouble. I had to negotiate with her. I told her it was not my intention to wake her up and that I was only trying to prevent her from getting a diaper rash so she should go back to sleep.
Can you believe that this three-month-old baby looked me in the face and asked, “so because of a diaper rash you had to rudely interrupt my sleep? Mummy Goody Two-Shoes!”
Written by Dzifa Tetteh Tay, mum, journalist.
Editor’s note: this everyday story is so relatable and so humorous we featured it. Of course, 3-month-old babies do not talk, and diaper rash is real! Some babies find it easier to fall and stay asleep when a routine is made for them.