We just had a mini-crisis: the motor on our baby swing went out!!!!! This is a disaster, people, and let me tell you why: first, Jacob is not so much a sleeper still. The only thing that gets him to sleep is motion, lots and lots of motion. This is fine if you are an Olympic hurdler or a mountain climber or a swimmer and have lots of stamina and endurance, but the husband and I do not. And after so long of walking him around and swaying and jumping and shaking and jiggling, you are ready to pass out sooner than one might think. And the bouncy seat provides a bit of a respite, but you have to keep bouncing it because the minute you stop, it's over, he's awake, and you have to start all over again.
Enter the swing. Lately, we have been using the swing for nighttime fussiness, which usually occurs around 8 or 9 pm, and for early morning restlessness, which usually starts between 5 and 6 am, and for almost all daytime naps. In the evening, he gets put into the swing if the husband isn't around or is sick or just isn't up for the half hour walk that Jacob likes to take nestled against the husband's chest before going to sleep for the first leg of his nightly sojourn. In the morning, usually when gassiness has taken its awful toll, and he is absolutely wide awake before the crack of dawn, I bundle him up in the miracle blanket (which stop his gassy writhing for some reason) and put him in the swing, then crash on the couch myself for a couple of hours while he goes safely and quickly to sleep. During the day, after walking or bouncing or nursing him to sleep, he rests in the swing for 45 minutes to an hour (on good days) while I eat, shower, do laundry, clean, or sleep (on good days).
Without the swing, simply put, he stays awake. A lot. Forever. And it is horrible. So when the motor just went out, kaput, dead as a doorknob, I was in a bit of a panic. Craigslist was too iffy, the retail stores online would take too long and their in-store stock wasn't guaranteed, and none of my friends have an extra swing...and did I mention we use this one every single day?! And it was Sunday, the Sabbath, which complicated things immensely. Eventually, I decided this was my ox in the mire (or the mire was imminent given how much we use the swing to maintain sanity) so I trundled off to Burlington Coat Factory and bought a replacement swing. Same brand, Graco, because I liked them, and it wasn't the manufacturer's fault I bought this swing used with too much use on it. Choosing the same brand turned out to be a boon because it appears the motors are interchangeable, meaning I didn't have to fully assemble the new swing. I could, instead, cannibalize the motor and attach it to the already assembled swing. Huzzah! It worked like a charm, and he's been swinging happily ever since.
Yet another reason to Ferberize him soon and get him to sleep in his own bed so we don't have to rely on battery operated (or people powered) means of lulling him to slumber. Sounds good in theory, no?
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