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As I made my nightly "last peek" of my children before I headed to bed, I found quite a sight when I looked in on my youngest, Emily who will soon turn 4. I got a chuckle and I thought maybe you would too, so I am sharing here.
Tyler has fallen asleep in some awkward positions in all of his 5 years. I guess every child has fallen asleep at the table at some point. Tyler fell asleep a few months back when he was eating. Although we chose to have dinner in the living room that night because we'd drove through a fast food joint on the way home late one evening, he fell asleep before he'd taken the first bite of fries on this night.
Since I have become a parent, I could probably count on one hand (okay, maybe two) how many nights of uninterrupted sleep I have had! Seriously! Uninterrupted sleep is something that is easily taken for granted until you become a parent. Oh, and don't think that just because your children get older and are no longer teething, wetting the bed, or having nightmares that you'll regain the freedom to sleep uninterrupted for any lengthy amount of time because once they start driving then you're going to be wondering if they are okay, where are they, and who are they with, right? It's just never ending.
Being a mother is most definitely one of the greatest and most rewarding jobs on the planet. But, it is also the most tiring. Thank God for Grandmas and Grandpas!!
Some of my Facebook and Twitter followers have asked me how my little one is doing. Emily is, well she is really sick. She has Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an infection of the lungs and breathing passages. Every four hours, she has to take two puffs from an inhailer and every six ours she's to have Mucinex to keep the phlegm in her lungs from getting worse. The doctor said she will get worse before she gets better. There is no guarantee that she will not end up in the hospital before it's all said and done. We just have to keep a close watch on her and make sure her "wheezing" doesn't worsen and that her breathing doesn't become a chore as well as making sure that she does drink her formula. Right now she's cut her intake down by about 1/2. She's taking only an ounce or two every hour or so where normally she will drink a six ounce bottle every three hours. This is probably due to the fact that she's so congested it's hard to breathe and eat.
The last two nights have been pure hell. I've been up with her because she cannot lay down without choking and gagging. I've been sitting up with her in the recliner and we sleep off and on that way, but more off than on! Her pediatrician told me that days 4-7 are usually the worst with this condition so it looks like I will not be getting any sleep any time in the near future. Of course I have family that would sit up with her, but I am sure that I would not be able to sleep even if they did, so there's not much need in taking them up on their offer.
Please keep us in your prayers because it looks like we may need them for the next few days. I will post updates when I can. Right now she's sleeping so I am going to grab a bite to eat and then try to nap a bit myself. Thank you all so much for your care and concern.
My six year old daughter was standing at my bed side. She was whimpering that she'd had a bad dream. I sleepily raised my head from the pillow and glanced at the clock. The number three was all I could make out. The rest was irrelevant because I had just been up a little over an hour earlier feeding her baby sister. Two hours before that, somehow Tyler had made his way into our bedroom. When this happened I do not know. He has learned to sneak up on his father's side of the bed and worm his way into the middle without waking me because I carry him back to his bed when this happens. Yes, we have a King sized bed. But, you put one child into this equation and it equals mom on the edge of one side, dad on the edge of another and child turned sideways in the middle. Sometimes I am lucky enough to get the "head" end, but most of the time I get the mule kicking "leg" end.
I kicked the covers down and threw my legs over the edge of the bed careful not to move the bassinet that contained the previously fed four month old sister mentioned above. Shelby wanted to chatter about her dream. I just put my finger over my mouth and motioned her back toward her room. I walked her to her bedroom. As I tucked her in she told me that she had a bad dream. I told her that it was okay and I would tuck her in and she could go back to sleep. She said that she wanted to sleep with me and I informed her that she was a big girl and she needed to sleep in her own bed. I kissed her forehead and made my way back into my bedroom.
I contemplated taking Tyler back to his bed at this time, but I realized that if I did he'd probably start screaming and I'd have two children awake with no doubt that Emily would follow suit. I laid back down after turning Tyler straight in the bed. It wasn't long after when Shelby came back into my bedroom and said that she could not sleep in her bed because she was scared. Her dream catcher was not doing it's job. She threw her bad dream to it and it fell back down on her!
For those of you unfamilliar with a dream catcher, it is traditionally a Native American made craft designed to hang above a child's bed to catch nightmares. Shelby informed me that tonight when we get home that we have to clean it out. We must take it from her ceiling and shake it off outside so that the bad dreams that it has collected will be gone. It is too full to collect any more nightmares. Well, that's that...I will be spending my evening cleaning cob webs from the corners and bad dreams out of dream catchers. How about you? What will you be doing this evening?! Hopefully tonight will mean more sleep, even if it means dreaming of something such as work or even Ferrari parts.
When you're up at 3am standing at the toilet with a three year old little boy who has his eyes closed, but clearly needs to pee. You're "helping him along" since he's mostly asleep. You walk him back to his bed only to return to yours and a sleepy little 2 month old begins to whimper in her bassinet because it's been 3 hours since she's eaten and it's time for a bottle. You return to the kitchen to prepare a bottle, and feed her. As you're feeding said 2 month old, you try to think of the last time you had a full night's sleep as your husband snoozes comfortably unaware of the sacrifices that you make as he gets a peaceful sleep night after night.
*sigh*
Whoo hoo!!! For the first night in six weeks, I got a FULL night's sleep. I did not have to change a single diaper, make a bottle, change bed sheets after an accident, scare a monster from a closet, or wake to a snoring husband. What a night! I feel refreshed. Many thanks to my fabulous MIL & FIL who have my children. I tell ya, without them I sure don't know what I'd do. My MIL is my angel. She has no fears when it comes to keeping her grand children. She loves 'em and I love her for it. What a lucky girl I am. Now, I think I'm going to brush my teeth (yes it's 1pm and I haven't done so...gimmie a break I slept 'till noon), get dressed and do a little bit of shopping. I need to get the kiddos some winter clothes. The days are getting cooler and they're bigger than their clothes! What's on your agenda on this beautiful fall Sunday?!
This is what my husband's side of the bed looks like after he gets out of it in the mornings.
I just wanted to post a quick update to let you all know that I am still pregnant! I am counting down the minutes now 'till this baby girl arrives. (8 days 'till her projected due date) There is little to no sleep for me as I cannot get comfortable laying down due to indigestion and horrible back pains and I can't sit up because my legs ache. I visit the doctor tomorrow and hopefully we'll find that we have some more progression. Last week I was dilated to a 2 but my cervix was still in tact. Keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow we'll find out that the cramps that I've been having at night have caused a bit more progression toward labor and maybe she'll arrive soon!
It has most definitely been a while since I've woke up to drool. I'm talkin' about the good ole wet, slobbery face that you get after a good, solid sleep!
This morning, I woke up to just that. Normally I would be grossed out by this fact, but today I was overjoyed because it meant that my achy back, swollen feet, horrible leg muscle spasms, and the other numerous pregnancy symptoms did not keep me awake all night last night!
Hurray for sleep!!!
I tell ya what...if I don't get this little one of mine well, I think I might go insane! The poor little guy was up and down all night last night with an upset tummy. His ears are clear of infection (thank goodness), but he has lots of pressure in his head so they are still bothering him. The doc said to give him clear liquids and light foods for the next 24-48 hours and let him "eat what he wants". Okay, so popciciles and candy it is! *LOL* At this point, I'm just wishing for some good sleep. This is killing me. I'm staying worn out from the pregnancy anyway and then to have a sick little one keeping me (and hubby) up all night is really taking it's toll on me. I was sure thinking I could use some wine gifts. But, then I remembered one tiny problem as I considered consuming the bubbly...I patted my belly and assured her that I could drink all of the wine I wanted when I knew I wasn't sharing with her. ;)
Please cross your fingers for me that sleep comes easily tonight.
It has been a long week. I had to travel 6 hours one way for business on Tuesday and then 6 hours back home Wednesday afternoon. The trouble is that I woke up at 3AM on Tuesday and couldn't go back to sleep so I stayed up in preparation for the drive. It was a long day. I was exhausted when I hit that king sized hotel bed.
When I got home, Shelby was sick with some sort of stomach bug. I was up with her a big part of the night Wednesday night. I was back at work on Thursday. I have felt exhausted and out of it all week. Thursday night I went to bed at 8:30. Last night I was snoozing by 9. Unfortunately my sleep was interrupted last night. Tyler woke up at 12:30 upchucking.
Thankfully we still had some phenogren from when Shelby was sick. They now make this stuff in a gel form that you rub on their wrists instead of the 'ole suppository that was miserable for everyone involved. So, I gave Tyler some of this sleep saving medicine and he only dry heaved a couple of times after that. Our sleep wasn't without interruption as it began to storm a short while later and he's terrified of storms.
He seems to be feeling a bit better this morning. He's eaten a slice of cinnamon toast and some crackers. He's also drank a cup of Sprite. So far he's kept it down.
I've just got my fingers crossed that this awful virus skips over me when choosing it's next victim! I'm off to find some tooth picks to hold my eyes open after I find a walk in tub to soak my weary body.
Last night was one of those nights I wish I had one of those adjustable beds. Tyler, who is 2 woke up after a bad dream and said he wanted to sleep with me. I was tired and it was storming outside, so I half way figured he wouldn't go back to sleep anyway due to his fear of storms. So, I brought him to our King Sized bed. Well, by the end of the night, hubby was on the edge of his side and I was on the edge of mine. Tyler had free range of the rest of the bed, rolling back and forth and kicking like a mule! Needless to say I am exhausted today and the dreary, stormy weather isn't helping my cause any. I am ready for bed now so I can catch up on that lost sleep from last night!
This is what I woke up to this morning. We had stormy weather last night, which caused both children to become scared. As the alarm begin to scream at me that it was time to get up, I had just began to sleep well. Before I got out of bed, I was laying on this patch right near Tyler's little foot. Yup, that little half inch spot! *LOL* See Brien waaaaaaaaaaaay over there on the far side? Looks like the kiddos were comfy at least!
I am completely exhausted!!! Tonight we got all of our Christmas shopping finished up and all (but one) gift is wrapped and ready for distribution! The kiddos are getting large battery operated vehicles. Shelby's getting a 4 wheeler and Tyler a Ford F150 Pick up truck. Tonight, the Ford is put together and charging. Tomorrow, the 4 Wheeler will be assembled and charged. It is going to be a great Christmas for my kiddos. I'm really looking forward to seeing the JOY on their faces this year.
