Thanks for Crying. Please, Hold.

I put my daughter on hold today. Allow me to explain.

I was doing dishes and had just started washing what had to be my 100,000 bottle, which - by the way - did not cause confetti or balloons to fall from the ceiling. Huh. Imagine that. Anyway, Brynna started to cry during her afternoon nap. Normally, I would quickly rinse the suds from my smart blue rubber gloves (Yes, I sprang for the nice Clorox ones. Fancy, I know.) and dash up the stairs to see what my darling daughter needed. Well, not this time. This time I already knew what her malfunction was: She had rolled over and couldn't get comfy enough to fall asleep again. She started this about a week ago but it usually happens toward the end of her nap so I would just go get her up. Again, not this time. This time she managed to flip over at one hour into her nap after only taking a 30-minute morning nap. Bottom line: The kid needed to hop back on the train to Snoozeville.

Unfortunately, the only way to remedy this issue is every mommy's nightmare: Let her cry it out. So that's what I was up to. What surprised me was what popped into my head as she started her protest for the third time. I knew I was going to have to let her cry and I only had a few more bottles to wash so I was staying put. As she began to wail, I heard a pleasant recording in my head say, "Your crying is very important to us. All representatives are busy at this time. Please continue to cry (or go back to sleep) and a mommy will be able to assist you as soon as possible. If you must continue to cry, please do so in a manner that does not wake your sleeping brother in the adjacent room." Repeat. It's silly, I know, but that soothing operator voice got my mind off of my screaming child for a while.

Brynna did eventually go back to sleep and woke up happy. Mission accomplished and one more pint-sized customer served. Ding!