It Takes a Village

There is that quote that Hillary Clinton made so famous in the '90's:

It takes a village to raise a child.

Really for most people, this quote can be changed to:

It takes a family to raise a child.

I am a rather independent person. So is Ian. When it comes to raising Connor on our own, I think we do a pretty good job. There have been no tear-filled nights for us...the same can't be said for Connor! Sure we haven't gotten much alone time without our little man tagging along, but we don't exactly have the finances to go out all the time anyway.

All this changed yesterday. It was one of those days...the ones when you wish you could call your mom and have her come take care of you! Or at least take care of your child! Connor didn't sleep at all on Sunday night. It was like torture. Twice I passed Connor on to Ian. It was like playing tag; no one wanted to be "it"! Then, after a sleepless night (and there is no exaggeration there, I maybe got an hour or two of shuteye) we were followed up by a very unhappy day. Unless Connor was being held by me, he was screaming his head off. And, it was pouring down rain most of the day, so we were cooped up in the house (Connor famously becomes "Mr. Happy" as soon as I take him out of the house). I was exhausted. It was awful.

Last night, Ian resorted to driving Connor around to get him to go to sleep. And, he ended up sleeping in his car seat for half the night. He got a good night's sleep last night and this morning has been great. But still...

I can't help but think of yesterday and wish my mom was living much closer to me. Close enough that after a night like that, I could call her to get a break from my child. Close enough that she could give me a hug and take a turn holding my child for a bit.

Turns out that no matter how old I am, how independent I am, I still need my mommy!