In the Still of the Night
Last night after I'd tucked Sam in with little more than a hug and kiss I thought about how far we've come with him and his sleep. I would say he was an average sleeper as a baby. He always slept in his crib (a fact I now regret), but sometimes it took several attempts and what seemed like an eternity arched over the crib hushing and patting. And then there was the perilous tiptoe out of the room, avoiding any squeaky spots on the floor (but inevitably stepping on a stray binky or rattle or cat's tail).
When we moved Sam to a big boy bed we often had to spend the night sleeping on the floor next to him. But now, when you say it's bedtime, he brushes his teeth and climbs into bed on his own. One way I know we finally made it with him - when you tuck him in he is grinning from ear to ear.
Then there's Jake. While he showed promise as a baby, somewhere around 18 months, the wheels came off. We sleep trained, we cried it out, we Ferberized, and just about the time we started to get it right, we kicked him out of his crib for a big boy bed. The apex was the night he got out of his bed 54 times.
I can't really tell what kind of sleeper Abby will be because she hasn't had a chance to sleep on her own, but I'm not worrying too much about it. When I think about all the blood, sweat and tears (and I think we have truly experienced all three) that goes into getting your kids to sleep through the night, and then suddenly they are doing it, all that came before is, well, a little comical.
And bittersweet.
And ironic. Suddenly they are sleeping and you're not.
If anyone is awake at night now it's me, lying in bed listing the homework (check), lunch (check), library books (check), permission slip (check) that have to make it into Sam's backpack. When I do sleep, it is usually in that hazy half-sleep that makes it possible to hear every cough, every whimper, every trip to the bathroom.
That's enough for now. It's time for me to go to bed, to watch Abby sleep. I may miss those nights of deep, undisturbed sleep, but one of these days she'll be sleeping in her own bed and I'll miss her more.
When we moved Sam to a big boy bed we often had to spend the night sleeping on the floor next to him. But now, when you say it's bedtime, he brushes his teeth and climbs into bed on his own. One way I know we finally made it with him - when you tuck him in he is grinning from ear to ear.
Then there's Jake. While he showed promise as a baby, somewhere around 18 months, the wheels came off. We sleep trained, we cried it out, we Ferberized, and just about the time we started to get it right, we kicked him out of his crib for a big boy bed. The apex was the night he got out of his bed 54 times.
I can't really tell what kind of sleeper Abby will be because she hasn't had a chance to sleep on her own, but I'm not worrying too much about it. When I think about all the blood, sweat and tears (and I think we have truly experienced all three) that goes into getting your kids to sleep through the night, and then suddenly they are doing it, all that came before is, well, a little comical.
And bittersweet.
And ironic. Suddenly they are sleeping and you're not.
If anyone is awake at night now it's me, lying in bed listing the homework (check), lunch (check), library books (check), permission slip (check) that have to make it into Sam's backpack. When I do sleep, it is usually in that hazy half-sleep that makes it possible to hear every cough, every whimper, every trip to the bathroom.
That's enough for now. It's time for me to go to bed, to watch Abby sleep. I may miss those nights of deep, undisturbed sleep, but one of these days she'll be sleeping in her own bed and I'll miss her more.
posted by Romine Family at 5:24 PM
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