When I see new moms posting on Facebook their excitement because their 7 week old is sleeping through the night, I kinda want to reach through the computer screen and punch them in the throat. Sounds harsh, I know.
But when you don't sleep through the night in, oh, say forever, it makes punching a person in the throat seem mild.
Let me back up. Andy used to be a great sleeper. He used to go to bed GREAT. He used to sleep from 7pm until about 7:30am (you want to punch me in the throat now? just wait.)
Enter potty training. Enter constipation station. Enter big boy bed. I am not sure which of these factors set him off, but he hasn't slept through the night (except one time- yay!) since early October. You are reading that right. He will be THREE in May and doesn't sleep through the night.
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| after begging him to take a nap, he agreed to take one in Cal's bed. Whatever you want, kiddo. |
Some nights he wants water. Sometimes he requests medicine. Sometimes he wants to sleep in our bed (a big no no). He will not wear a diaper/pull up to bed so he wakes up to pee every night now. Usually, it is a quick middle of the night visit-- under 10 minutes to pee and tuck him back in again with two extra hugs and kisses. Other nights, the negotiating is endless-- Mr. Grinch is NOT coming...Hank is tucked in his bed....Cal is asleep....!!! The stalling is quite impressive. And aggravating in the middle of the night.
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| exhausted after a particularly long night |
We thought maybe it was time to drop a nap. So we took that away and he was a holy terror by 4:00 and slept horribly that night-- up 2-3 times.
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| eddie was out of town. i had been up twice with nug and once with cal. the last time he woke up, I gave in and brought him in my bed. He was out cold for about 4 minutes...when Cal woke up needing me. Of course! |
And, while Andy is the main guilty party, he is not alone. When Cal gets overly tired, he has crazy dreams and screams out in his sleep. He won't stop the screaming until I go in there and re-tuck him in and calm him down again. But usually his screams wake up Andy before I can sprint in the dark down the hallway.
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| the above pic and the below pic were taking on different nights- just same jammies I think those make him hot because every time he wears them, I find him in some crazy position like these... |
Cal saw Andy going to bed without a pullup, so he really wanted to do the same, not to be out done by little brother. He was usually having an accident about once a week-- and it would wake him up, so he would then call out to me-- then waking up Andy.
Can you see the pattern here?
I have started taking Cal to potty every night before I go to sleep. That works really well- he hardly wakes up, pees quickly and is back to sleep in 45 seconds. I actually LOVE this time with him. He is all snuggly on my shoulder and so sweet. I tried taking Andy to go to the bathroom- he became WIDE awake as if it was 8 in the morning and was ready to start the day! It took quite a while to get him calmed back down again, so I haven't tried that with him. But, it does seem to cut back on the bed wetting for Cal.
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| he hasn't taken a nap in FOREVER....finding him snoozing on the couch shows you how worn out we have ALL been! |
Andy also has started putting up a fight for bed time every night. If he skipped a nap that day, he usually goes to bed without much effort. But if he did get a nap, it takes a LOT of energy to get him down--for good. We tuck him in, kiss him, etc- just as we have always done.... and then I will hear a door creak and Andy will be cruising down the hallway.
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| Andy had been "asleep" for an hour when I heard a noise from the playroom. He snuck in there and got the iPad. He was all curled up on the couch watching a movie-- a solid hour after I thought he was in bed. |
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| I have started going to my room after the kids go down. I will fold laundry there or just watch TV waiting for him to wake up. If I am downstairs, I will miss him when he sneaks out. |
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| a super active morning plus missing a nap....crashing in the car |
One Monday night, he was quiet in his room and had been for a while, so I sat on the couch in the playroom to watch some Bachelor action. I was watching away when I caught a glimpse of a face in the reflection of the window in the play room. After I cleaned out my pants (kidding)(kinda), I explained to him that he needed to stay in his bed.... holy cow, it scared me to death. Eddie came home one night to find him hiding behind the big chair in the playroom-- I had moved to the couch so I could see him in the reflection easier-- totally missed him sneaking in. We have no idea how long he had been there.
The other part of this is Cal, to this day, will not get out of his bed without permission. When we put him in his big boy bed for the first time, we explained to him that he is never to get out of bed-- and he hasn't. Unlike Mr. Nugget Head!
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| as an incentive, we have been begging/bribing Andy that if he slept through the night, he would get icecream... well, he finally did, and we celebrated it like he won the lottery-- thinking if we made a big deal of it, he would do it again. He hasn't. And when we ask him if he will do it again, he replies: "Nope!" |
I realize I take a lot of pictures-- I have been teased for taking a bunch of them on the potty. I deserve to be teased for the amount of pictures I have of them sleeping...I am ready for it.
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| maybe my favorite sleeping picture ever |
The purpose of the post is to offer a huge apology. If you see me with big ol' bags under my eyes or if I am walking in circles... I am tired. I slept through the night in Pinehurst and didn't even know what to do with myself.
One day everyone will sleep through the night...right???
