I like to think that since I've had children that maybe I've mellowed a bit, become a tad bit less selfish, maybe even a little bit more mature. Nothing tested this therory like last night.
We went to bed around 11pm and woke up at 2 something to Chloe's demanding cry. She NEVER cries herself to sleep, rather, she cries herself into a frenzy. Waking in the middle of the night is a rarity for her. Typically, a small bottle will calm her back down and she goes back to sleep peacefully. We've even nick-named her "Sleeping Beauty" because she sleeps so soundly and doesn't stir until around 9:30 or 10 in the morning. Obviously, tonight she had other plans.
After attempting the bottle-and-back-to-sleep routine twice, Chuck & I were at a loss of what to do next. For the sake of sleep, we decided to try letting her sleep with us. Wrong choice. This appeared to stimulate her even further. Time to implement Plan C. We weren't sure what it was, but we were desperate to get back to sleep. In steps 'tough love'. We reasoned (with whatever minute ability we had at that wee hour in the morning) that she was going to have to learn to put herself back to sleep eventually; no better time to start learning that than the present. 45 minutes later, after non-stop crying and still no sleep on our part, we caved and brought miss wiggle worm back in bed with us.
The complexity of this test now jumps to the next level. I now realize that I have a horrific headache. Chuck kindly got up and got me two migraine pills which only succeeded in keeping me awake due to the high level of caffine in them. As my head is throbbing, Plan D starts to formulate. Come 4am, I decided it was time to cut our losses, at least one of us was going to have to get some sleep. I told Chuck that I would take Chloe upstairs and sleep with her on the guest bed so he could get some shut eye for at least an hour. How was I to know that the other two children in our family were laying wide awake upstairs in their bedroom. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was like 85 degrees upstairs.
As I try to settle Chloe down in a new stimulating environment, I hear faint whispers outside of the door and then little pitter patters up and down the stairs. Chuck does not pitter patter, so it must be the boys, I reason. Yet, I lay there clueless and still awake for another 45 minutes. Almost three hours later and we have achieved succes! Chloe has finally drifted off to sleep. I tip-toe out after surrounding her with pillows, since she's still on the big bed and I go check on the boys who of course are dying of thirst, that is why they are laying there wide awake at 4:45 in the morning. I relent and tell them I'll run down and get them some water, because I too, am sweating up in the sauna we call upstairs. Plus, my head is still pounding and I decide to get some more medicine before I scream and wake Chloe up again.
Once I get down stairs, Chuck comes to greet me, saying he's just going to go to work. Going back to sleep is just a pipe dream at this point. I agree and kiss him goodbye. I head back upstairs with water in hand. Yet again, another plan is popping into my head. Obviously, the wee hours of the morning are very productive for my brain. Plan E is about to take effect.
I ask the boys if they would like to cuddle with me and Chloe on Chloe's bed. The clincher was that they would have to be VERY still and VERY quiet. I'm given ample promises and we all head over to Chloe's room. I begin to question my sanity. I whisper the order of the sleeping arrangement to each child and we disperse to our assigned places with stealth precision. So far, my plan is a success. Gavin, Chloe and I are all parallel while Bennet is laying perpendicular to us at our feet. This was a tricky plan for me being that geometry was involved - I was never very good at geometry.
I believe the boys fell asleep somewhere around 5:30. I lay there listening to the unique sounds each chid makes while sleeping. Their breathing patterns are all heavy and rhythmic, yet they don't lull me to sleep. I find it just a tad bit ironic, that today, of all days, we have to leave the house around 8am, meaning I will most likely have to wake everyone up. And I have to do it with only 3 1/2 hours of sleep under my belt. Making rational decisions might be a little challenging for me today. Thankfully, God's grace is not dependent on how much sleep I procured the night before. :)
