-Van Morrison, "Wild Night"
Sweet Luke, who has been generous enough to sleep through the night for many, many months, has a little cough. And it's enough of a little cough to wake him up in a big way. So last night, he woke up numerous times and needed a little parental intervention to settle himself again.
First, this needs a little backstory. When the boys were babies, we made what we believe to be a very wise decision by putting a single bed in each of their rooms alongside the crib. These beds, which were actually 2 parts of a trundle bed, were great places to snuggle and read stories, great places for Granna to sleep when she came to town, and most importantly, great places for mom or dad to crash on particularly rough nights. It worked really well for us.
But recently, Jay decided that he wanted to start sleeping with Luke. We thought it quite adorable and they shared a room very nicely, happily chatting to each other every morning. Good roommating is important because if we ever decide to have another wee one, sharing a room will become a necessity for the fellas as our house only has 3 bedrooms. They were so happy together, in fact, that we moved Jay's toddler bed into Luke's room and put the trundle back together in the room formerly known as Jay's. It made for much more space in each room. This worked swimmingly until the grandparents came to stay a couple of weeks ago. Jay wasn't about to let the chance to share a room with grandfolks pass him by, so he moved back into his old room on the trundle - and hasn't looked back. He's stayed in the big boy bed.
So, last night when Luke woke up for the third time at 4:00 a.m., I mumbled sleepily that I'd just stay in his room after I got him settled. I had forgotten a critical piece of information - the only available bed in there is Jay's toddler bed. But honestly, I was so tired I didn't care. I re-settled the Lukester and curled up on Jay's tiny old bed.
"Not too bad, actually!" was the thought that crossed my mind as I drifted back off. "Kinda like sleeping curled up on the couch," something I've done by choice, over and over.
At around 4:45 a.m., however, I began to realize that it wasn't *quite* as comfy as our couch. All the baby books suggest you purchase a nice, FIRM mattress to minimize risk of SIDS. We shopped well, my friends. It's certainly a nice, firm mattress. And while it might be the width of the couch, there ain't no stretching out or letting your feet hang off.
Then at not quite 6:00 (the hour I've designated as worth getting up!) Luke woke up crying again. In my not-so-wise state of grogginess, I picked him up and brought him into the bed with me. They tiny little toddler bed. And as he laid there snuggled up under my chin (quite literally!), I thought "If we're going to be the only 2 people in this house sharing a bed, why in the heck is it THIS one?!" Thus endeth my attempts to sleep.
Oh, and just in case I wasn't confident of this already - I am most certainly NOT ready for another newborn in the house. I like my sleep a little too much.
2 comments:
I am loving all of the blogging lately...just makes me want more! In reference to Luke's coughing, do you ever read The Graedon's Pharmacy column in the N&O? They have shared many stories about children's nightime coughing being calmed by rubbing Vick's Vaporub on the bottoms of the children's feet! I can't imagine it could be harmful in any way unless they licked their feet or got the Vick's on their hands and in their eyes, nose or mouth. Look it up and give it a try if you will. It might help!http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/11/21/old-fashioned-vicks-vaporub-vindicated/
:) Lynette
Lynette - we have tried it (though it didn't occur to me in the middle of the night!) In fact, I think that all of my chosen sisters have used that approach on their own kids.
I've also heard that slapping the bottoms of their feet will stop a nosebleed, which in Jay's situation is a worthwhile trick to know. Haven't tried that one yet, but it's in my pocket just in case!
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