Sleep, baby. Please?

This mama went to bed at 8:30pm Sunday night. Halloween on Friday night, the busy weekend, and the time change - added to a baby who still wakes once per night - and I just could not take it anymore.

It has been a long few weeks.

Amelia was my overachiever baby when it came to night sleep. She was a horrible napper, but slept through the night - until at least 7:00am - by about 10 weeks old. Andrew is nine months and eight days old, and he continues to wake. He had a week or so of uninterrupted 11-hour sleep. Every now and then he will make it all the way through. But not so much lately. He is back to being up once per night, usually about three hours after he goes to bed. Often, he is wide awake and wants to play OR he is angry that he's awake and screaming his head off.

Not fun at all. He wakes his sister who needs to be rested for school. He frustrates me because I just do not understand why the waking occurs. I feel like I am following all the "rules"!

Driving a sleeping baby (and some lovely Southern charm)

With baby number two almost three months old, I am slowly remembering the nap issues and mommy tricks to stay sane. Amelia was a bad napper - short naps, and no amount of hiding or leaving her alone would help her go back to sleep. Thirty or 45 minutes, and boom. Eyes open and ready to see  the world.

Andrew is turning out the exact same way. We are in the too-short nap phase and it's driving me bonkers. I can't get anything done in 30 or 45 minutes! The other day, I resorted to my old standby with baby Amelia: driving through random Atlanta suburbs. Andrew falls asleep easily in the car and he is really comfy in his car seat. So today, when he dozed off after our errands at the bank and post office, I just drove. I chose random roads through the northwest suburbs to see where we ended up.

Because my kids are cute.

All moms are totally biased, I know.... but my kids are cute!

I was recently thrown into an important work project despite maternity leave (but hey, I was complaining about boredom just the other day) and baby has kept me very busy. So posts have been lacking lately.

Until I catch my breath, enjoy some cuteness....

Baby won't wake up




Kindergartner sings 'Let It Go'



Everyone must have a cover of that song... right?!

Saturday Sleepies

I like photos of cute kids (and animals) sleeping!

after a night at Disney World

A's cousin's dog taking a snooze

Happily snuggling a new friend

Precious nephew Logan

Baby-to-be!

#WW: Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Little Mermaid

Last year, we stayed in the Lion King family suite thanks to an unexpected upgrade.This year, we were in the smaller Little Mermaid wing, but it was still a nice experience. Disney goes all out with the decor, as usual.

I requested a room with a lake view. It was nice to see the lights of Pop Century, but take note: this is the farthest from parking. I may request closer to parking the next time! Or have a bellman help us lug our stuff form the car.

The right kind of silence

Now, this kind of silence is another story. Last week, the daytime silence had me uneasy. This morning, I find myself noticing the quiet again.

The wake up clock sits dim in her room, awaiting its moment to activate the soothing green glow. Her body is still, her chest gently rises and falls without a sound. Sheets, rumpled and tangled, rest at her feet while stuffed animals lie askew next to her, on her, and on the floor.

I am showered, my hair has been dried. I have nine minutes. Nine minutes to catch up with the news of my world through a quick scroll of Facebook. Maybe put a word or two on the blog. This is the best kind of silence. Cool air outside means a cozy blanket on my toes. A peaceful sleepy head in the other room means a moment to breathe for me.

Wake up time will come soon enough, bringing with it the chaos of yet another school day. For one more second, I turn my head and listen. To nothing.

Daddy is hilarious

Unless he is working late or traveling, my husband is in charge of Amelia's bedtime. He loves spending time cuddled on her bed and playing silly games.

We still have a baby monitor in her room because even now, as of age 4 1/2, she does not leave her room. She has gotten out of bed perhaps four times in her entire life. Instead, she calls for us.

"Hey Mom-MY... Hey Dad-DY..."

See what I'm up against?

Picture it... a Monday night...

A just-turned-4-year-old sporting a Disney Princess nightgown does not want to go to bed, despite multiple warnings that it is already 30 minutes beyond her usual bedtime. She pulls out all her tricks to lengthen these moments,

"Mommy? I need one more hug."

"Daddy? I really miss you at bedtime."

"Mommy? I am very thirsty, may I have some water?"

"Daddy...."

"Mommy..."

She knows the one that always works, "I need to go potty again." 

We have to let her get up to go potty, just in case. 

This night, she goes potty and sloooowly washes her hands. She spies her new coconut scented shampoo on the counter, "Mommy, I want to smell my shampoo!"

Mommy's patience is all gone. "No, you may not. I said bed... NOW."

We teeter on the verge of a major meltdown, but narrowly escape as she unhappily crawls into bed. I tell her my goodnights, give her a final squeeze, and leave the room. Then I remove the shampoo from the bathroom counter and hide it, knowing her never-ceasing persistence will drive her little bare feet over there at the first chance.   

Sure enough, we hear the telltale squeak of the floor upstairs, a mere 4 minutes later. I wait a moment, then yell upstairs, "Amelia! Get back in bed, please!"

Squeak squeak.

I go up to her room, just as she dives back under her polka dot sheets and pink butterfly quilt. I ask her what she had been doing.

"I wanted to smell my shampoo."

Grinning, naively claiming victory, I reply, "And you couldn't find it, could you?"

She sits up, her face aglow with pride. "But I did! I opened the cabinet and moved some things... and there it was! So I smelled it. Goodnight, Mommy."

I bolted from her room as fast as I could, suppressing a laugh. She did, after all, disobey me.

Does Mommy ever win?!?

- - -

Definition #1 from Dictionary.com

Definition #2 from, well, me.

Mama's quiet place

Too early for sleep, yet late enough to burrow. Under cool sheets I go, relishing the weight of the downy duvet. This time of year, only darkness hangs outside the arched window. The air is cool.

My quiet place? My bedroom.

Once the chatterbox singing princess is snug and silent in her own cozy spot, I breathe. I allow the weights of another busy day to lift off my shoulders. I take time to loosen my muscles and listen - to absolutely nothing.

Then, during my only extended down time of the day, I reach for my iPhone or my e-reader.

The time is mine.
I can do what I like.
Not making a sound.

Getting creative with bedtime issues

Every now and then, I come up with a pretty good parenting idea. Today? I am quite proud of my "bedtime activities chart."

You see, we have a bedtime issue.
A classic three-year-old "I don't want to stop playing" issue.
And yes, we - Mom & Dad - are probably to blame.

After a busy day of work, errands, and various tasks, we enjoy the quiet of Amelia's bedroom and the extra time for some giggles. But with every new funny game we play, our precocious little daughter files it away and comes to expect it. Again and again and again each night. At this point, our bedtime routine has about twelve steps and takes forever. We can't even get a nighttime babysitter because her routine is that crazy.

Tonight, we're introducing my new creation. A chart with velcro images. A chart that allows Amelia to make her own bedtime choices. But only two of them. Each night, we will let her dictate what we play. She will select two images (books, animals, Little People, songs, etc.) and stick them to the bright pink squares.

No changing her mind. No asking to do more. She gets to select TWO activities.

I am prepared to face a few tears at first. However, I hold out hope that we can reach a good place. I want to help Amelia assert her independence by leaving the activity selection entirely in her own hands (literally). I want to help manage her expectations by focusing those decisions and consistently sticking with only two per night.

This chart was easy to make. Images from the Internet, self-stick velcro dots, some poster board, and tape. I think it's a pretty sharp idea!

Let's hope it works.

WW: This bed is crowded!

Amelia's bed was crowded this morning!

Kitty

Dumbo

Cat



Amelia & Ladybug
"We're both smiling!"



Also making an appearance in Amelia's bed?
Three small frogs, a turkey, a sleepy lamb, and a wolf.

Slumber party!

Link up with @BelleBeanDog and @TamingInsanity for  
iPhone Photo Phun today!

Classical Cradle (with a #giveaway!)

A couple years have passed since my baby was a... baby. She has blossomed into a fiercely independent and fantastically creative little girl.

Bedtime used to consist of rocking in the cozy chair, listening to soft music, and patting her little bottom. Now, it is a 30-minute event. Playtime, books, funny giggling games, prayers, and back rubs.

When I received the Classical Cradle CD, I was excited to test it out. Amelia's cute little pink and white flower CD player is broken, so I hauled the ancient big black "boombox" into her room. She laughed at me and my contraption (circa 1990). But when the simple soothing piano melodies began to play, she was enthralled. In fact, she did not want to go to sleep - she wanted to wait and listen to every single song!

Classical Cradle is really a lovely bedtime album, featuring some well-known classical medleys via acoustic piano. Unlike some other children's classical albums I own, all of the songs on Classical Cradle have a calm feel and even tempo. It is a fantastic lullaby selection. Even though bedtime means a bit of play these days, we have been turning on the music every night. The entire family enjoys it.

I may want one for the office too! I certainly need some stress relief now and then.
Just as long as I don't fall asleep at my desk...

- - - -
I want you to experience this lovely lullaby album too!

What I want

Lately, I feel like three years' worth of tired smacked me in the backside and kept going, leaving tread marks down my poor body, smooshed in the road.

Aches and pains keep me up at night, stripping me of any hope for a chipper, rested morning. The more tired I feel, the harder it is to be a good mommy. My patience is stretched thin and I just don't feel like getting up for the fifty-second time to fetch a another snack, put in a DVD, help fit a puzzle piece, or open the too-tight jars of Play-Doh.

I struggle through each day, searching for activities that will bring bedtime closer... sooner. I pathetically hold on to hope that my husband will come home a few minutes early, just to get disappointed again and again as his overly demanding job pulls him into one more long phone call, one more meeting downtown, one more urgent email.

Honestly, people? I'm pretty annoyed that no one told me my life as Mommy would be truly, physically painful.

What a mommy will do

My heart breaks when my girl is in pain. I don't like scrapes, I don't like head bumps, and I especially loathe hand, foot, & mouth disease!

Our introduction to the nastly little virus began on Thursday, with a letter home to parents on blue copy paper:

"Dear parents, We wish to inform you that a student in your child's class was diagnosed with hand, foot, & mouth disease this morning..."

OK, great. So we'll be super vigilant and keep an eye out for symptoms.

Friday night, Amelia was quite a little meanie. We held out hope... maybe it's just a cold? Saturday morning, Amelia slept in really late. We gloated about how lucky we were to get extra sleep that day. But on Sunday, we were greeted with red blisters when we looked in her mouth. And now there are blisters on her hands and bottom.

Hello, HFMD. You are not welcome here.

Amelia is in a lot of pain.

Shhh... hear that?

Silence.

I love watching her sleep. Her sweet little round face is calm. The long eyelashes on her closed eyes are lovely. We're resting together in my room - our new favorite naptime spot. I listen to nothing but the sound of her gentle breathing. The phone is unplugged. My cell is on vibrate. I am forced to spend time in silence.

I like it.

Pacifier obsession

Amelia is two years and 4 months old. And she loves her pacifier with all her heart. She had gotten really good about only using it for sleep, but we've regressed a little bit. She's been in the hospital environment a lot since my SIL had her accident, and we keep her happy with a portable DVD player, Elmo, and the pacifier.

So the paci is back in our home. It has moved out of the bed and is used for each boo-boo, each tantrum, and each moment of fatigue when she chooses to lay on the couch for a minute or two. I have to carry one in my purse again.

She is sleeping in her own bed again at night, but naps in Mommy & Daddy's room. With so much adult stress going on around her, I feel like giving in is the right choice. For now.

But I can't help feeling guilty about it as well. I never imagined I would have the pacifier preschooler. Who sleeps in my room.

Nighmares and anxiety

Sometimes I see Amelia as such a big girl. She is independent, vocal, and intelligent. But every now and then, something changes in our lives. And she becomes my baby girl again.

Out of the blue, we have been challenged with night fears. Amelia woke at 1:30 a.m. the other night yelling, "Mommy, Daddy, I'm scared!". Her little body was shaking all over and her eyes were dilated huge & black. It took quite a while to calm her. But even then, she would not stay in her room alone. I tried sleeping on her bedroom floor, but I was too uncomfortable to remain there. The floor let out a small squeak upon my attempt to sneak out, and Amelia woke again, screaming for me not to leave her.

That night she slept in a pack-n-play in our room. She fell asleep right away and we all got some rest until morning.

Yesterday, she cried for a few minutes when I left her for naptime. But her exhaustion took over quickly and she was able to get a luxurious 2-hour nap. Night was a different story - the panic set in again. She cries like we've never heard her cry before. She clings to us like her life depends on a physical connection between us. Steve sat in the chair in her room until she fell asleep. Luckily, he was much more successful upon sneaking out than I had been previously.

Last night she stayed in her room. She cried out again at 1:45 a.m. "Mommy, Daddy, help me!". Once again, Steve went in to calm her (he is WAY better at getting her calmed down than I am. I tend to freak out with her... not ideal.), and managed to get back to bed in about 30 minutes.

This morning, Amelia was proud of herself for making it through the night in her room. Wish us luck for tonight! It breaks my heart that she has fears. Her world is supposed to be comfortable. And fun. And full of toys. Scary things do not belong!

Mommy mommy mommy mommy....

mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy aaaaaahhhhhhhhh mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy...

This is what Amelia is doing instead of taking a nap. It's a battle of wills at this point. She is going to win. I guess it is a no nap day.

I feel like a failure. Definitely not perfect today.