You don't know pain as a mother until you listen to your 4 year old…
The one with no sleep….
File it under things they don’t tell you about having 2 kids. Last night was a doosey!! And given that at this stage in my life, a typical night has me sleeping a total of 5 or 6 hours in 90 minute intervals, you know when I say it’s a doosey it really is above and beyond.
My poor big girl had one of her migraines. Sometimes I hate mommy radar, as I had commented to my sister in law on Facebook just before bed that with the storm brewing here in Vancouver, I wouldn’t be surprised if Adri had a migraine. Apparently I forgot to touch wood. I hadn’t actually fallen asleep myself until midnight. Aven was doing the little peep of a cry every 30 minutes. Not enough to get me out if bed but enough to keep me on edge thinking she was going to wake up any minute. She finally did about 45 minutes after I fell asleep. I had just finished feeding, changing, settling her and then myself back to sleep when Adri appeared in my bedroom full blown crying about her head. It was 2:45am. Luckily I was able to get her back out without waking her sister. Unluckily, her sister woke up about 45 minutes later doing the happy squeal and chat thing that tells me she’s not going back to sleep anytime soon. I also knew that we were just 45 minutes into a 2+ hour ordeal with Adri’s migraine. It’s nights like this that I curse my hubby’s midnight work schedule.
So I left both kids screaming in my bedroom to make a bottle for Aven. She sucked it dry and went to sleep. Adri was the bravest girl during that time and was able to be quiet enough in the throes of her migraine to allow her sister to fall asleep so I could help her. With her second dose of meds and some amazing breathing exercises she actually went to sleep WITHOUT throwing up. This is a big deal.
Of course, just as I drifted off, my sunshine wakes up. I bring her into bed with Adri and I. Me occupying the tiny sliver of bed teetering on the edge of falling off and nary a blanket corner in sight. Did I mention that we have a king sized bed? Thankfully she fell asleep fairly quickly and Adri never woke up. I grabbed the last 45 minutes of precious sleep before everyone woke up and we began the mad rush to school.
I have never been more thankful for my hubby as when I discovered he left the coffee maker all ready to go and all I had to do was push a button. Even that tested my abilities this morning.
Anyone else have awful, crazy nights like this or is it just me? I’d love to hear but be warned, I will not be responsible for my actions if anyone says “sleep when the baby sleeps!”
Haha sleep when the baby sleeps… When else would I clean up my disaster of a kitchen that’s been through 2 meals and a snack already? When else would I throw something together in the slow cooker for dinner? Put the recycling out, throw diapers in the laundry, respond to some e-mails, drink my coffee from this morning that’s cold but I don’t care I’ll drink it anyway… People are funny. I find if I’m extremely lucky I can get a nap in once a week if I put my mind to it (and I only have one who’s almost 2). And if I’m actually able to fall asleep once I lay down. Best of luck, and props to you for doing so well sans hubby for the night!
Thanks! Yes, aside from me working from home during nap times, my biggest issue with the “sleep when baby sleeps” is that I never know how long she’ll sleep for. If by some miracle I do manage to fall asleep and she wakes up 10 minutes later, in grumpier and more tired then if I hadn’t slept at all!
My 9 month old only just stopped getting up every 2-3 hours in the last two weeks so I hear you!! Until this past weekend, I could count on one hand the number of times I had had four hours of continuous sleep and that was the longest stretch I had previously had since she was born. I also totally hear you on being anti “sleep when the baby sleeps”. Sometimes mommy has things to do or sometimes mommy needs to have a moment to herself awake or sometimes mommy needs a glass of wine!
Tell me your secret! So happy for you and your sleeping munchkin 😀
Oh mama – I have just one wee girl and luckily she inherited my love for sleep (knocks on every piece of wood in the world.) I send you all the hope and wishes in the world for some lovely restful nights.
Jealous! May it always be so. My older one didn’t sleep through the night until a year, but after that she was a model child, telling when she was tired and putting healed to sleep! I ways say that if it takes a year of no sleep for a lifetime of awesome sleep then I’ll make that deal!
That has been one of the hardest things about having two small kids for me too – the lack of sleep (which is getting better) and leaving one to cry while you help the other. My little sister is in the same boat so we share tips, like how to poor coffee directly onto our eyeballs to stay awake all day 😉
Yes staying awake and especially engaged is my biggest challenge!! Well one of many….. Would love to hear the other tips too!!
I am totally with you on this. My baby still wakes 2-3 times a night and usually my toddler is up and into our bed at some point in the night. I’m always shushing my big boy because I don’t want him to wake his little brother. And then the moment his little brother makes a peep I rush to him because I don’t want him to wake his big brother. I get super nasty when my hubby’s snoring makes it impossible to fall back asleep after one of the boys has been awake. One morning they all awoke to find me missing…. I was asleep in the other room!
Oh wow, I feel your pain!
That sounds exactly like us! Except we have no other bed for me to sleep on so I usually end up in the bath!! (Soaking, not sleeping)
Both of my boys have been ridiculous with their sleep lately and i feel as though I am a walking zombie some days. But it will get better .. Lets hope that night wont repeat itself for you
It’s amazing what you can do on no sleep isn’t it? We’ve been out of town for 2 weeks, and while we loved seeing family, the sleep was especially brutal!!
Oh yeah, tons of those nights and even at 4 and 2, it still happens on occasion. But apparently, one day, they do sleep and sometimes we will have to wake them up. Unimaginable!
Ha! They tell me it’s true and my sleep deprived brain still can’t quite believe it 😉
Oh, I’ve been azombie mum more times than I can count. My little dude didn’t sleep through the night until he was 2 1/2, so I feel your pain. He gets night terrors too, so there have even nights when I’ve just fallen asleep only to be woken by the screams of terror. That must be so hard saving to help your girl with migraines, poor thing. Tea and Starbucks aremy friends on days like that. Hope you all have many restful nights from here on in.
Wow, I’m deathly afraid of night terrors (there’s some irony in there somewhere)! Me kids have never had them and I pray they never will. I would know what to do!! I hope that they lessen for you guys over time. That’s tough!