Bedtime Blues

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So, in the last 8 years of my life, or rather since I’ve been a mom, I’ve noticed how of little importance my rest, let alone any relaxation, has become.

When Darien was born I was much younger so the lack of sleep I’m currently experiencing didn’t bother me then quite as much as it does now.  Now, with Daniel, it seems I cannot catch a break. At first, he did not have any problems sleeping through the night; in fact he slept so peacefully every night that I was a bit worried that something wasn’t quite right.  I got used to it and then took every possible opportunity I could find to brag about my restful sleep to anyone with an ear to spare. 

This all changed when he turned 4 months old. 

Let me just say I feel that there should be a way for us to prepare our babies for the emotional assault we put them through at the doctor’s office.  The dreaded day fell upon us sooner than expected.  It was time for his appointment…it was time for shots. 

Daniel received 4 immunizations in all that day, 3 shots in the legs and 1 oral.  The moment the first prick entered his leg the agonizing crying commenced.  And I’m not above admitting that seeing my little sweetie that upset brought me to uncontrollable tears; even after the baby was calm, those salty little emotional tattletales steadily rolled down my cheeks. I made the appointment 2 months in advance so honestly I had plenty of time to get my own emotions in check. 

Daniel has NOT been the same since. 

The night following his appointment he downright refused to sleep in his bed…pssh, who am I kidding? He refused to sleep…PERIOD!  I gave him pain medicine, a nice bath, and tried everything I could think of to get him to relax and go to sleep.  Nope, all he wanted was his mommy to hold him and cuddle him all night.  ALL night.  Any sleep on my part was not an option.

And so started the long and exhausting journey of getting Daniel back on his sleep schedule.

I would go to work the next day looking disheveled following a night of being kept awake by him playing for hours.  Coworkers would say, “Awww, Daniel wants to play at 3 am.  That’s so adorable”….No awww, it’s not cute anymore; it’s just plain mean!!  Never mind that I have got to get up and go to work in 2 hours.  Or never mind the total lack of sleep I endured throughout my entire pregnancy that I still haven’t caught up on.  Let me tell you, from “morning” sickness and heartburn to a pea-sized bladder and leg cramps…you name it, it kept me awake.

So for the past 4 months I have gotten so little sleep that it’s truly amazing that I’m even able to remotely function in my everyday life.

Well, starting this past Sunday night, I decided I wanted my room back.  I want adult time with my husband.  I want to be able to watch TV in bed without having to lip read what the actors were saying.  I finally put my foot down.  I gave Daniel a nice bath, complete with lavender baby wash to help induce sleepiness.  With the lights turned down low I sat in my rocking chair and read him a little book about a baby bunny who didn’t want to go to bed.  Then finally, it was the moment of truth…I put him in his crib and walked out of his room, closing the door behind me.  Man oh man, did he cry! He was so mad at me I’m telling you!! I could practically hear him screaming, “Mommy, why are you abandoning me?? Don’t you love me anymore??”  I paced the floor outside of his bedroom for a good 20 minutes until finally there was silence.  Being the over-protective mom that I am, I naturally assumed something was wrong and I frantically rushed in his room to check on him.  But, there he was, sleeping peacefully.

Daniel slept the entire night in his crib and it was AMAZING!! The hubbs even slept on the couch so I could get some uninterrupted shut-eye, free of the startling chainsaw snoring I have come to expect less than 2 minutes after he closes his eyes.

So the following night we followed the same schedule, I thought surely last night was a fluke and I won’t get two nights in a row—fate has never been so kind—until now!! Once again he slept all night in his crib, with a little less fussing this time.  So, since Sunday night, Daniel has been sleeping in his own room, ALL NIGHT LONG!!

SLEEP will surely come my way.

I couldn’t be more wrong.

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Darien, my 8 year old, is a morning person.  He’s one of those annoyingly chipper morning people who like to get up before the sun and watch some TV, play with some toys, and leisurely get ready without a care in the world.  I am the polar opposite.  I like to sleep until the very last possible minute.  I seem to thrive on the stress of getting ready in a hurry.  On weekends, when I don’t actually have to get up early, I am almost ALWAYS rudely awoken by the sound of stomping feet above my head and running down the stairs next to my room.  I can forgive that.  I cannot, however, forgive the tiny voice right next to my ear, “Mommy, have you seen my green bear?”

For the love of all that is good in this world, why in the world would any human being need to know the location of a tiny green bear at 6 o’clock Saturday morning???!?

Emily, bless her heart, is not a morning person.  Like me, she enjoys sleeping as long as possible; however, when she does finally wake up, she stomps around the house on her heavy little heels making as much noise as humanly possible.  Why?  I have asked…she doesn’t know either.

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That brings me to my husband; my dear, sweet husband.  After many hours of wrestling with Daniel to get him to sleep, I finally fall into bed, exhausted.   I feel myself drifting off to what will hopefully be a dreamless sleep and as my eyes close for the night, I feel a soft caress up and down my leg.  Followed by a soft, sweet whisper, “Babe, are you still awake?”  As this can only mean one thing, I internally debate with myself; to answer or not to answer.  That is the question…which usually happens to be, “No, I’m not awake.”

After finally giving up his pursuit, he lays his head on the pillow and 1.3 seconds later, the snoring begins.  At first it starts quietly, just a soft purring almost.  My eyes close and I fall asleep.  Moments later, I am startled awake by the most ungodly snort coming from Brian’s side of the bed.  I gently shake him and ask him to roll over where he continues snoring.  Repeat this process about 7 times and that should paint a nice picture for you. Needless to say, his snoring has gotten out of hand.

The next morning, my head is buried under at least 3 pillows as a result of the mixture of snoring and stomping I am constantly assaulted with.  I hear Brian puttering around the house, making coffee, letting the metal spoon clang against the sides of the mug, intentionally being as loud as possible in an effort to let me “wake up on my own.”  A few minutes later he comes back into our room, yanks the blankets off me and says “Are you gonna sleep all day?”  I cannot describe to you the fury that goes through my entire body.  This man, who I love very much, is about to get injured. 

People, this happens every weekend.  I kid you not!

So, I wrote all this to say….well, I’m not really sure anymore.  I’m so tired; I lost my train of thought!  Any advice on how to block out the world will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading everyone!!

Kristen B Riggan

Exhausted

www.facebook.com/Kristen.Riggan

http://kriggan.blogspot.com/



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