Rule #368 for Raising Children:

If you're breastfeeding, remember to watch what you eat!

I've been fighting a little cold lately and have a Vitamin-C fizzy drink that I can take to ward off things like that. Well, I've been taking it morning and night - successfully staying healthy! But little Joseph just hasn't been acting himself. Saturday he was a bit fussy in the car when normally it lulls him right to sleep. And Sunday (during church) he became (gasp!) inconsolable. What's a first-time Mom to do when her normally calm and happy baby is fussy? Beats me. I tried everything and then tried changing his diaper. Lo and behold when we took his pants off he calmed down. I don't know...

Yesterday was the worst, though. He slept a whopping 3 hours during the day. Umm...does anyone understand how much Joseph normally sleeps during the day?! He was miserably exhausted! But no matter what, he would not go to sleep. He cried and cried and cried. Thankfully, I didn't get to the point of actually pulling my hair out, but I was close. Before, I thought the reason mothers of newborns were so tired was because of how physically draining it is. I have not experienced that. In fact, I haven't experienced any form of exhaustion. Tired? Yes. But yesterday, I was exhausted. It is so emotionally draining to be tending to this poor, cute baby who is miserable and crying and you don't know what to do.

During dinner last night at the McIntyre's, we all hashed out the situation. Things like "babies sometimes just cry and you don't know why" and "what did you eat yesterday?" and "has he gone to the bathroom?" were passed around. It was Aaron (of course, my genius of a husband) who offered: "Kelly, could it possibly be that energy drink you've been taking?". "What energy drink?" "The vitamin-C drink!" "Ohhhhhhhhh. Huh."

Yes, my friends, I had forgotten that it was, in fact, also an energy booster. Huh. So poor Joseph has been injected with gobs of extra "energy" these last couple days. Now, there's no guarantee that's what has been bothering him, but there's a good chance it's connected! So, last night Joseph had a nice, relaxing bath, and then a soothing massage; we filled him up with yummy milk and he was rocked to sleep. And he slept like a baby. So did mommy. :)

And no more Vitamin-C fizzy drink for now.