The Sleep Wars

You never know when a situation will arise that demands a helmet. Or, perhaps this is a comment upon my driving. Whatever the reason, Stewart has been really into wearing this helmet. He has to wear it into the store, if that's where we're going, and is a rather unhappy fellow if you suggest he remove it. Better safe than sorry? Surely not a hill I'm going to die on.

The hill I am going to die on? Sleeping through the night in my own bed, with only my husband keeping me company. Really, the kicker was when Stewart got into bed with us Saturday night at about 1:30 in the morning, only two hours after I had gone to bed, and I realized that in two months I'll have a newborn waking me up to nurse... combine that with a two year old storming into my bed whenever he wants, and I'll never get any sleep, nor will our home have any sanity! So, Michael & I made a deal, and with a true team effort, have been taking shifts on who puts Stewart back to bed. First, we found a baby gate that Stewart can't vault over. Sunday night Stewart slept from 8PM till about 11:30. He got out of bed to find the baby gate (which I told him would be there before he went to sleep) and proceeded to scream and cry for three and a half hours. It broke my heart. He said every word he knows, and tried every thing he could think of to get himself out of there. "I'm hungry!" "Please, out!" "All done!" Every half hour or so I put him back in bed, laid down with him, rubbed his back told him things like "I love you, you can do it, you're a big, strong boy, there's nothing to be afraid of..." he'd calm down, I'd leave the room, and he'd run after me screaming. He threw his blanket over the gate so I'd have to come get it. I did this a few times and told him I wouldn't do it anymore... and didn't. He even sang one of the songs his Dad made up for him, "I wanna go home, home, home!" (The Diaper Rash debut CD is due out sometime June... details later). He finally fell asleep in his bed at about 3:30 and slept until 5:30AM. I was a total wreck Monday. That night was Dad's turn. Things went so much better! He only got up twice, each time for a period of a half hour each. Michael was a little stricter and after the first time of getting the blanket and putting him in bed, didn't get up and just told him to go back to bed... and Stewie did. The sweetheart that my husband is (or just b/c he saw what a monster I was on Monday) took my shift on Tuesday night. Things went about the same, except he just put him back in bed and the kid stayed there and went back to sleep. Its been like that every night since. Yahoo, right? It could be so much worse. I've heard other people's stories. Since Wednesday I've been taking all of the shifts because my legs are crampy and feeling all pins & needley... and I'm having to get up to pee more times than the kid gets up. Now if we could just get him to sleep through the night and be able to fall asleep independently again. If I haven't said it before... I just don't get what happened. For the first two years of his life he was totally an independent sleeper...

Eight more weeks! I can't believe how close Eliza's entrance into the world is getting. I'm already nesting. I washed all of her little clothes (I forgot how tiny!) and put them in her drawer. Again, my legs and fingers frequently fall asleep, and not just when I'm asleep. I have to get up and move a lot, though the couch is my friend when I'm at home. My back aches and feet ache if I'm up too long. Holy swollen cankles (yes, I'm aware that's redundant)! Stewart felt her kick for the first time yesterday morning, and was a tad bit confused. He asked if he could kick her back. Hey, at least he asked!?! Needless to say we're having a lot of talks about being gentle. We have the ultrasound this week to check on my placenta. We'll keep you informed!