I'm Still Sleeping
Mornings are a time of change... moving from the blissful depths of sleep and making the transition to working, learning, playing... whatever the day entails.
This morning we all seemed to have a little trouble with that.
The past few nights have been a bit bumpy, with Ryan waking up and doing the howling-back-arching-miserable baby thing. It has been so bad that I've been taking him in the other bedroom to keep him from waking Colin up. (Sydney, ever the trooper, follows me and the shrieking terror in spite of the fact that her poor fluffy ears must be ringing from the noise!) Last night was bad - nothing was working. Ryan was utterly determined to be miserable. I don't know if he's teething (still/again), if it is a remnant of the Roseola virus he had, or just plain old spite. Either way, it didn't matter - the bottom line was that the kid was bawling and screaming and I needed to find a way to make it stop. So I gave up and tossed Ryan in the sling and we walked Sydney around the development until he gave up and fell asleep. (I WIN!)
This morning I was so delirious when I woke (around 5:30, long before the alarm went off) I had no idea where I was. I could feel Ryan in my arms, but had no idea which bedroom I was in. Pathetic.
I tried to put the baby back in his crib so I could stumble downstairs alone and get everything ready, and maybe (HA! HA! HA!) have a cup of coffee and 5 minutes of quiet before the real chaos of the day began. Ryan wasn't buying that. I gingerly laid him in the crib, on top of his nice fluffy fleece, rubbing his back and hoping against hope that he would stay asleep. He looked adorable in his little green footie-pajamas, with his arm under his cheek, his little lips pursed, and his rump stuck up in the air... I was gently removing my hand from his sleeping back when... he groggily picked his head up, struggled up onto all fours, then reached blearily for the bars of the crib as he began to cry and reach for me.
All right, little guy. C'mon. I took him into the bathroom and gently placed him on the floor so I could take care of business. This was simply too much for him to tolerate, so he flopped forward, put his forehead on the ground, and (a picture of utter despair) began to wail his displeasure. OK - I'm done! Stop already you miserable little tyrant!!! I picked him up and any annoyance I harbored immediately dissolved as he wrapped his arms around my neck and nestled his head into my shoulder.
I grabbed the sling (my dear friend, the sling) and put him in so I could continue with the morning routine.
Eventually he woke up enough to play a bit while I was getting ready, then we headed back upstairs and Hari took over getting Ryan dressed and ready. While I was brushing my teeth I heard Colin beginning to stir, so I went over to check on him. He was laying on his side, under the covers with his head on the pillow, looking like the picture of comfort. I crawled onto the bed and started gently touching the tip of his nose with my index finger. "uunnnhhh" I did it again. "uunnnhhh!" I started to snicker, amused at myself. Colin covered his nose with his hand. I started giggling louder. "SHHH! Mommy, I'm sleeping" I did it again... and Colin cracked a small smile, then we were both giggling. But he wasn't ready to get up yet. "Mommy, I'm still sleeping. Will you snuggle with me?"
It takes a stronger woman than I am to decline an invitation like that. And while the rest of the morning wasn't exactly smooth sailing those moments snuggled with my little guy in my arms were precious beyond words.
You just have to love when kids help you put things back into perspective. Being a few minutes late for work because I spent those moments with Colin sleepily curled in my arms was undeniably and utterly the right decision. Period! Thanks to both of my boys (and to Hari as well!) for making sure I had a truly wonderful morning.
This morning we all seemed to have a little trouble with that.
The past few nights have been a bit bumpy, with Ryan waking up and doing the howling-back-arching-miserable baby thing. It has been so bad that I've been taking him in the other bedroom to keep him from waking Colin up. (Sydney, ever the trooper, follows me and the shrieking terror in spite of the fact that her poor fluffy ears must be ringing from the noise!) Last night was bad - nothing was working. Ryan was utterly determined to be miserable. I don't know if he's teething (still/again), if it is a remnant of the Roseola virus he had, or just plain old spite. Either way, it didn't matter - the bottom line was that the kid was bawling and screaming and I needed to find a way to make it stop. So I gave up and tossed Ryan in the sling and we walked Sydney around the development until he gave up and fell asleep. (I WIN!)
This morning I was so delirious when I woke (around 5:30, long before the alarm went off) I had no idea where I was. I could feel Ryan in my arms, but had no idea which bedroom I was in. Pathetic.
I tried to put the baby back in his crib so I could stumble downstairs alone and get everything ready, and maybe (HA! HA! HA!) have a cup of coffee and 5 minutes of quiet before the real chaos of the day began. Ryan wasn't buying that. I gingerly laid him in the crib, on top of his nice fluffy fleece, rubbing his back and hoping against hope that he would stay asleep. He looked adorable in his little green footie-pajamas, with his arm under his cheek, his little lips pursed, and his rump stuck up in the air... I was gently removing my hand from his sleeping back when... he groggily picked his head up, struggled up onto all fours, then reached blearily for the bars of the crib as he began to cry and reach for me.
Dag-nabbit!
All right, little guy. C'mon. I took him into the bathroom and gently placed him on the floor so I could take care of business. This was simply too much for him to tolerate, so he flopped forward, put his forehead on the ground, and (a picture of utter despair) began to wail his displeasure. OK - I'm done! Stop already you miserable little tyrant!!! I picked him up and any annoyance I harbored immediately dissolved as he wrapped his arms around my neck and nestled his head into my shoulder.
I grabbed the sling (my dear friend, the sling) and put him in so I could continue with the morning routine.
Eventually he woke up enough to play a bit while I was getting ready, then we headed back upstairs and Hari took over getting Ryan dressed and ready. While I was brushing my teeth I heard Colin beginning to stir, so I went over to check on him. He was laying on his side, under the covers with his head on the pillow, looking like the picture of comfort. I crawled onto the bed and started gently touching the tip of his nose with my index finger. "uunnnhhh" I did it again. "uunnnhhh!" I started to snicker, amused at myself. Colin covered his nose with his hand. I started giggling louder. "SHHH! Mommy, I'm sleeping" I did it again... and Colin cracked a small smile, then we were both giggling. But he wasn't ready to get up yet. "Mommy, I'm still sleeping. Will you snuggle with me?"
It takes a stronger woman than I am to decline an invitation like that. And while the rest of the morning wasn't exactly smooth sailing those moments snuggled with my little guy in my arms were precious beyond words.
You just have to love when kids help you put things back into perspective. Being a few minutes late for work because I spent those moments with Colin sleepily curled in my arms was undeniably and utterly the right decision. Period! Thanks to both of my boys (and to Hari as well!) for making sure I had a truly wonderful morning.
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