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Is your baby up all night long? I can relate!
Sometimes I think that our kids get together before bed & make a plan: “Listen, I’ll get up at 10, 2 & 4. You get up at 11, 1 & 3. Who’s up to get Mom for the 5:00 wake-up? Anyone? Anyone?”
Just a run down of some of my nights…
7:00- kids in bed. We clean up from dinner.
12:00am- I go to bed. (Its gotten later. It used to be around 11:00).
Feed our baby before bed to give her enough to last 6 hours (hopefully!)
1:00- 2 year old up. His ears hurt (AGAIN! Our kids get chronic ear infections- even with tubes)
1:30- Up again. This time he gets some medicine (& sleeps all night)
3:00- 4 year old in our room- his night light turned off. Can I fix it? So I head downstairs to get a lightbulb & change it out.
5:00- Our baby cries. Oh Man! That milk just didn’t last in her tummy- just one more hour??
5:15- 6 year old up to use the bathroom. He doesn’t come in, but hearing him up wakes me up (I am a light-sleeper now that we have kids).
6:30- Our 2 year old is up for the day. We keep taking him back to his bed until 7:00 when he is allowed to come out. He doesn’t know our “Come out of your room at 7:00” rule yet (not allowed out of your bed until 7:00- that is ‘morning time’ in our house because they need their 12 hours of sleep!) I’m just starting to teach him.
6:45- My husband’s alarm goes off
7:00- everyone is aloud to come out of bed at this time. (see my post “Kids waking too early – how to keep them in bed longer)
Yep- that about covers it. I’m not even exaggerating! Some nights I literally see every hour of the clock. Some nights when someone needs me, my body shakes when I stand up from pure exhaustion!
Its not always that bad. There were two days this week where our baby slept from 12-5ish or even 6. She is STARTING to do the 6-hour stretch more often & its wonderful! Once that is consistent, I’ll feel like a new woman!
I am not a good napper, so napping doesn’t help. I feel worse. I think I’ve gotten used to no sleep – but my memory has certainly taken a hit! I know I should go to bed around 9:00, but I like spending this time with my husband in the evenings. I also like this time to do housework (clean up from the day & prepare for tomorrow – here is my post on how to get kids reader for school quicker in the mornings).
Then I remember… “This, too, shall pass.”
I won’t always be waking up at night. One day, I”m sure that I will wish that my kids “needed” me like they need me now. Need me to tuck them in, need me to feed them, need me to give them a kiss because they got a boo-boo falling out of bed, need me to cuddle them when they wake up with a tummy ache or ear ache. For now, being needed is tiring, but isn’t it worth it?
Plus- in about ten years, I will get all the rest that I need when our “teenagers” are sleeping until Noon! 😉
What does your night look like?
