Hmmm...I'll go ahead and mark this as a post that won't be printed off for the family journal at the end of the year. It's more of a small-scale vent.
First, let me say that I love my children. I need them like I need air. They color my whole world in better, brighter hues. I would be a sad, sad girl without them.
So now that that's out of the way...
I'm totally sick of my kids today. They're wonderful and funny, but they're also destructive and self-centered. I know that is how kids are, but some days it's hard to cope with! Take sleep, for instance. I don't get any. Yeah, I know. I have a baby, blah, blah, blah. But she's almost 8 months old! Does she need to get up twice a night? No. Does she anyway? Yes. She has been the hardest to sleep train. And the trickiest! She'll do really well for a few nights in a row. Just long enough to make me think she's changed her ways. I'm so happy that I share the news with friends. Me at the pool yesterday: "Hey Michelle and Shari, guess what? Sophie has been sleeping straight through until 4 AM lately!" Michelle and Shari: "Hooray! That's awesome." Me at 1 AM when Sophie woke up to spite me: "Dang it!" Me at 5:45 when Sophie woke up AGAIN (and this time for good): "DANG IT!"
So as if Sophie's not bad enough MILES has joined in the mix. It's like some big sleep-deprivation study that they're all working on. It's called, "Let's see how much sleep we can take away from mommy before her head explodes." Miles decided last week that naps really aren't for him. He'd much rather stay awake ALL DAY. And while he's at it, why bother sleeping at night, either! Rest and recuperation are SO over-rated. This kid has turned bed-time into some sort of extreme sport. It starts with night prayers where he's jumping all over the bed and climbing on every possible surface of the bunk bed. We pry him off and put him into bed, sing a few songs and leave the room. Before we've even made it out of the hallway he's behind us asking us to lay down with him. We say, "No Miles. It's bedtime," and then put him back in his bed and leave. Again, the kid materializes out of nowhere and is in front of us asking us to lay down. How did he get out of bed so fast? It's like that movie Jumper. Or maybe it's more like Star Trek and he's got one of those tele-port things. I don't know, but it's slightly eerie. Anyway, this charade goes on for at least 30 minutes. We try to be good parents and not get upset. He's only testing our boundaries, right? We follow all of Super-Nanny's greatest tips. We don't talk to him and don't let him have fun. We just pick him up and take him right back to bed and leave. The whole thing is exhausting, honestly.
But if he stayed asleep it would be worth it. But no. He's started having nightmares (I know, not his fault) so around 10:30 or 11 we hear him start crying and have to go in and calm him down. That's pretty easy. But at some point in the middle of the night he ends up in our bed! WHAT? By that time I'm so annoyed and tired that I just don't care and he ends up spending the remainder of the night with us. This happens at least 3 times a week. Grrrr....
So yeah. I'm tired. REALLY, REALLY tired. And to top it off Sophie has decided that she only needs short naps. I think she just gets woken up by the non-napping Miles and then can't fall asleep. But really, can't I just catch a break? Just on this one thing? How am I really supposed to be getting anything done?!!???!?!?!?!?!
Oh, and did I mention it's over 100 degrees today? Heat always makes me feel lovely:) Nothing so beautiful as a sweaty upper-lip and pitt stains at the end of the day. "Welcome home, honey. Give me a hug."
Rawlins Family
12 comments:
Mine are sleeping, but I'm not because I'm having stress over our retaining wall that keeps getting built (and rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt) incorrectly. It will be a doozy of a blog post when I get there, but I don't think I can hack it till it's all over with. Anyway, they are sleeping, but they are also fighting. Constantly. Which includes massive amounts of screaming. And that's especially lovely because the stress-induced isomnia is in turn inducing vise-like headaches that won't go away. So yeah, I'm with ya, sister. Pre-school starts Aug.11th, but I wish it started last week.
oh.......what a lovely thing it is to turn the knob around on the door and lock them in. BUT, it may not be easy with two in the room. I feel for you. Just like pooh......mine sleep great but I spend all day saying this "DALLIN stop chasing and hitting Mia......MIA stop squealing" What to do....what to do. Does Cameron start school or did he just barely miss the cut-off. Mia goes to all day pre-k in two weeks. Yippee!!
I'm so sorry Anna! I feel your pain! Marc WAS sleeping through the night from about 2 months until 5. Since then it's been touch and go - he will 3 nights in a row and then for the next 3 he'll be up at various times. It's awful. I'm so sorry.
totally feel you, don't know what to tell you, kids!
Ok, I will stop talking about Stephen.... I dont want to jinx it! But really I am sooo sorry Anna, I think they all just go through phases. I find at times like that, I think "I wish they were 12 cause what 12 year old wakes up at night?" AHHHH one day.. in the not near future right?
Unlike the rest of the comments, I don't know what you're going through. However, my door is always open if you ever need a child free weekend in D.C.
Oh, I feel your pain. We have good times, when Matthew goes to bed at 8:30 and we don't hear a peep from him until 5 AM; and then there are the nights when he wakes up at 12 or 1 and refuses to go back to sleep in his bed. And when he comes to our bed, no way does he want to cuddle with non-preggo daddy - he wants mommy, and to nurse all night long, but not peacefully. He squeals every hour or so and wakes me up, and then he settles right back down, but I'm 8 months pregnant and there is no such thing as 'right back to sleep' for me.
Anyway, just wanted to say that I feel your pain. And guess what, I've got another one coming who won't know anything about sleeping. Can we say loopy?!?
I am so sorry Anna. You sound miserable. I feel your pain.
As I read more and more about Miles, and then read this especially, he totally sounds (to me) like the middle child. He's not the first born nor is he the baby (a cute GIRL baby) anymore, so as the middle child he does WHAT he can to get some extra attention. Middle children are also the ones that have the most unique personalities and have proven to have the most creative ways to get attention; Have I described him to a T or what?
We dealt with (and continue to deal with) the crying out in the night thing still with Ty. He claims it's nighmares, but I think he does it just to get some one on one time with us. To alleviate the "nightmare" wake ups at night we ended up putting a night light in the bedroom. It might help with Miles too.
Stick to your guns. I know it's exhausting but it it will pay off. Hang in there. ((HUGS))
wow that sounds so exhausting. thanks for the heads up- now pax and i won't have kids for another 5 years. hahaha! good luck with this crazy phase in your life... if you need help at all- give me a call- i'd be so willing to make some dinner, clean up a bit, or play with the kiddies while you get some rest!
love ya
Sorry for your plight chica. But I have to admit that I laughed through the whole post for two reasons: 1) We've all been there and it's terrible. 2) You are hilarious to read. Thanks for keeping my spirits up even though yours are very much dragging. Don't worry! :) The sun will come up tomorrow even if you don't want to see it. Following that act of brightness, the moon will return and you will have yet another chance at that blessed angel called "sleep". :)
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