This morning got off to what I’m going to call a rough start. And in my mind that’s mild for what I would actually like to call it. Because really? If I could’ve gone back to bed for a do-over, I would’ve.
My toddler? Does not sleep through the night. And when he wakes up crying, it’s a full-on cry like something’s wrong. He’s not manipulating me or crying out for me or making unreasonable toddler demands in the middle of the night. It is the cry of fear or pain or both. And so we go to him. In part because we practice many facets of attachment parenting and in part because WE ARE HIS PARENTS and it’s our duty as such to be there for him when he needs us.
I know the doctor is going to yell at me about this next week when I take him for his 2 year visit and I’m going to leave there feeling like a pile of poopsandwich because, not only does my child NOT sleep, I’ve just been lectured on it. And he’ll get shots. Awesome.
Anyway, this morning.
I went to bed at 11:00 last night and couldn’t fall asleep and at 11:50, Joshua started crying. So I took that one.
At 3:30, (or was it 4:30??) he was awake again. Only Dan took this shift. Thank God.
And at 5:00?
Yep. Crying again.
::sigh::
I shouldn’t have laid back down when he woke up at 5:00. I should’ve just gotten up and started the day. I know that would’ve been the wiser decision to make. But it’s not the one I made.
Bonehead move, that one.
Today? Let’s just say that today I’m thankful for two things.
Jeans day, where I paid $2 to wear jeans that I grabbed FROM THE DIRTY CLOTHES, courtesy of Special Olympics fundraising here at the school.
And dry shampoo.
Shirley
Thursday 17th of March 2011
Boy! How I dont miss those days. Mine use to wake up and want to crawl into our bed. But at 6 years of age my husband wouldnt hear of it. So my husband said they could stay in our room but need to stand by the wall no laying down. It worked only a few nights of them trying to sleep standing up. They finally stopped coming to our room. Know I get to stay awake until my 17 year old comes home for the night usually midnight. Good luck with the sleepless nights. Thank god for a cup or 3 of coffee.
Katie
Thursday 17th of March 2011
oh hey! we had one of those days this morning!
oops!
The definition of my life right now.
Thursday 17th of March 2011
[...] [...]
Amy
Wednesday 16th of March 2011
I totally get you on this one. Except for the dry shampoo which I really need to hear about now.
I have a philosophy about the cry thing too. I can pretty much tell if it's a fake cry of "mom, I'm in here by myself and you should come in and entertain me" or if it's a "mom! I need help! Get your butt in here NOW!" I now ignore the fake cries, but I always go for the necessary ones. It's always a hard call and I usually go anyway if I'm not sure. We also got a bit of a talking to about letting Darling Girl cry a little and it would be ok at her 2 year appointment. She's 2 1/2 now and I still go in to her room when she needs me. So you can tell that I listened.
After the discussion I had with Lauren (@unxpctdblessing) on Twitter last weekend, we broke down and went looking for something to help DG sleep. She was taking 2+ hours to go to sleep and often waking at least twice. I was losing my mind. We got some of the Hyland's Calms Forte for Kids. This is night 3 of trying it and so far (knocks on wood), it rocks my socks. She's settling down better in the evenings, going to bed without the world's biggest tantrum, and she's sleeping better through the night. I can keep you posted on how it continues to work for us if you want. I'm very hopeful though.
And now my book is done! ;)
Jenn @ Middle of Mommyhood
Wednesday 16th of March 2011
Well, if I had known we were all up we could have partied! But in all seriousness, that sucks. And if he's up tonight, you can just call me, because I know I'll be up, too. So, really, the doctor thing has me worried. I don't know your doctor, but already I don't like your doctor. Lecturing? It does nobody any good AT ALL. Please change doctors and go see ours. She is awesome. Three kids, five years, a slew of "different" parenting choices (or normal ones...you decide) and she has never batted an eyelash. She's even encouraged me numerous times when I was feeling a lot like you, and I think that's an important attribute to have when you're in such an important role. ::hugs::
Miranda
Wednesday 16th of March 2011
I shouldn't have said lecturing. That's not what she does. She just sort of gently assures me that it's okay for him to fuss or cry a little bit. But she is always okay with me saying that I'm not okay with that. It just feels like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine wants to know what the doctor are writing in her chart. I don't want mine to say "crazy sleep deprived mother" or something ridiculous.