After an absence of at least 6 months, the zombie groan saved the day-- or rather the night-- this weekend. Nora woke up with a shriek Saturday night around 4:30 a.m., and after a diaper change and lots of groggy cuddling from me, still refused to go to bed in her crib. What's more, she even resisted falling asleep in our bed, usually a sure-fire solution in desperate times. Basically, she only wanted to fall asleep with her head on my shoulder while I stood there and rocked side to side.
After two hours and several nursery-master bedroom-downstairs circuits and a teaspoon of Motrin to relieve her poor molar-shredded gums, I exhaustedly brought her back into bed with me and sighed in frustration as she again began to wail. I sang songs. I rubbed her back. I attempted a game of peekaboo. Finally, I let out a long, drawn-out zombie groan-- and almost instantly, the crying stopped and Nora cocked her head to listen.
Soon she lay down with her face two inches from mine, her face slack except for the familiar, intensely listening expression in her eyes. Within minutes she was fast asleep, and stayed that way for a blessedly quiet two hours.
It's like this strange white noise turns a key in her brain. I plan to save this for desperate situations, but it's good to know there's one more trick that may work. Note to my mom: Do not abuse this power! You'll render it useless! Note to international terrorists: Please don't suggest any Manchurian Candidate-style shenanigans while my daughter is under zombie influence.
Here's a reminder of the effect the zombie song has on Nora; this was taken when she was just a few months old:
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1 comment:
I pledge to use the zombie power for good and not for evil and not very often. Please God, I won't need it very often.
That was a very good description. Do you think she had a nightmare?
Grammy (how about Grammy instead of Grandmama? Just testing.)
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