Yes, I'm a bad mommy. I pray for sleep! I have the world's cutest, sweetest baby! BUT SHE DOESN'T SLEEP!!! ARGH!!!!
Those who know me also know I work at night. It's the only time people will leave me alone! Every night we fight with Cullen to go to bed. It's not as bad as it used to be, but he still hates going to bed. An hour later, the battle with Kieren begins. Sometimes the battle will start before Cullen even heads to the bedroom. This child is a night-owl! There's only room for one us in this house!
So, once Kieren takes her bottle, she is supposed to fall asleep. Sometimes she does this well. Other times, well, we won't go there. Let's just say that it's a really good thing she is so darn cute. It's the "Gotcha!" smile with all 6 teeth showing that is so frustrating. Kind of like "Bet you thought I was going to sleep, huh!" or "That was fun! Now what should we do?". She is sooo adorable it's hard not to smile back! Sorry, I said I wasn't going there.
Anyway, after Kieren falls asleep, I have to get her to the crib and then put her down. Okay, the lulla-bye music is playing softly. The lights are dimmed. Andy has FINALLY stopped banging stuff around in the other room. The cat is no longer in the crib or standing on my stomach meowing (STUPID CAT!). The dog has been banned for spinning his collar and making it rattle. Cullen is sleeping peacefully in his room. SLOWLY, I take my feet off the footstool and place them carefully on the floor. So far, so good. Now, I can slowly and carefully stand up. Kieren shifts in my arms mid-stand so I freeze. I stop breathing until she sighs and continues to sleep. Continue the stand-motion and exhale. Now to walk the 4 feet to the crib. She opens one eye and peeps at me. All forward motion and breathing stops until the eye closes again. Now to carefully lift her, breaking the body contact with my chest, and place her in the crib. This is a very critical time. Sometimes Kieren pops up like Tigger on speed as soon as I start this manuever. IF she stays asleep, we continue on. Now to carefully place her on the mattress. She usually rolls to her side. Sometimes she sighs and stays asleep. Sometimes she plays opossum and lets me think I was successful until I get the side of the crib up. And sometimes she rolls to her stomach, sits up, looks at me like "How dare you put me in this crib!", and the crying/screaming begins. If either of the latter events happen, we return to the chair and start the process all over again.
Why not just let her cry? Well, she can wake the dead! Andy has to work in the morning; Cullen has to get up for school before 6am; and I have to go to work when she is finally asleep. Kieren is also an extremely stubborn child and will throw a fit until you pick her up. We have let these fits go on for more than an hour and she has never weakened! Letting her cry just makes it more difficult to get her back to sleep.
Okay, so the child is now asleep in her crib. Now the praying begins. "Please God don't let her have any night-terrors tonight!" Usually they strike Kieren in the first hour of sleep. If we get beyond that, we're usually fine. I won't go into the horror of night-terrors in this post. I will save it for another post. Let's just say that no child should have to suffer through these and no parent should have to be so helpless.
Kieren still takes a bottle during the night. So when the little princess bellows sometime between 2am and 6am, Andy changes her diaper and I get the bottle. Andy heads off to bed and...the whole process starts again. Thank God this child will sleep until 9am or I would never be able to function!
Nap-time is a subject we will visit another day!
