Last night--or technically, really early this morning--I was having difficulty falling asleep. It was close to two a.m. when I started hearing whimpers from Patrick's room. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night just enough to fuss for a minute, but he usually falls back asleep quickly, so I waited in bed for that to happen.
Instead of quieting down, though, the cries continued to escalate. They went from half-asleep whimpers to full-scale screaming. Thankful I was already awake anyway, I got up to check on him.
Patrick didn't stop crying when he saw me enter his room. He also kept screaming when I picked him up. Five minutes of holding and soothing and he finally started to calm down. He was too awake to go right back to bed, though, so I decided to change his diaper. It felt damp through his clothes anyway, and I (wrongly) assumed a dry diaper would help him feel more comfortable.
As soon as he hit the changing table, the screaming resumed. I'm glad I decided to change his diaper, though; not only was it wet and dirty, but he also kept reaching for his mouth, as though it hurt him. I'm expecting those bottom two canines to break through before long, so it's entirely possible he woke up from teething pain.
I attempted to give him Tylenol when the diaper change ended. For the first time I can recall, Patrick wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe he didn't recognize the Tylenol bottle in the dark or maybe it had been long enough since he'd had any that he'd forgotten what it was, but he fought me. Eventually, I snuck it in the corner of his mouth, and he was perfectly content at that point. He figured out what I was doing then.
Still too awake to go back to bed easily, I tried holding him and rocking him again, but he just reached for the door like he wanted a change of scenery. I gave in and took him into our living room. I didn't turn on any lights, using the night light from Patrick's room to light the way. Patrick was very curious about where we were. It looked different from any room he knew because he had never seen it so dark before. Looking around at everything kept him quite distracted, and I was able to sit on the couch with him on my lap.
After a few minutes like that, I started noticing the silhouette of his head dropping forward. I adjusted his position on my lap, and he settled face-down across my chest with his head on my shoulder. I think he dozed off for a few minutes in that position and then jerked awake, pushing himself back up. A few minutes after that, he started nodding off again. I readjusted him yet again, and he settled back down on me. When he woke up again, I decided he was probably drowsy enough to sleep in his bed again.
I very slowly walked him back to his room, let him readjust to his new surroundings, and placed him carefully in his bed. He smiled at me when I handed him his fuzzy blanket and was nearly asleep as I closed the door behind me. I have never had him go to bed that easily before.
When I went back to bed, I had an even harder time falling asleep than before. I kept remembering that sweet moment with my baby cuddled up against me, having him perfectly comfortable because Mommy was his pillow. These moments have started happening less and less frequently, and I couldn't help thinking even as it was happening that it could very well be the last time for a middle-of-the-night cuddle like that. Somehow that thought only made me cherish it even more.
Instead of quieting down, though, the cries continued to escalate. They went from half-asleep whimpers to full-scale screaming. Thankful I was already awake anyway, I got up to check on him.
Patrick didn't stop crying when he saw me enter his room. He also kept screaming when I picked him up. Five minutes of holding and soothing and he finally started to calm down. He was too awake to go right back to bed, though, so I decided to change his diaper. It felt damp through his clothes anyway, and I (wrongly) assumed a dry diaper would help him feel more comfortable.
As soon as he hit the changing table, the screaming resumed. I'm glad I decided to change his diaper, though; not only was it wet and dirty, but he also kept reaching for his mouth, as though it hurt him. I'm expecting those bottom two canines to break through before long, so it's entirely possible he woke up from teething pain.
I attempted to give him Tylenol when the diaper change ended. For the first time I can recall, Patrick wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe he didn't recognize the Tylenol bottle in the dark or maybe it had been long enough since he'd had any that he'd forgotten what it was, but he fought me. Eventually, I snuck it in the corner of his mouth, and he was perfectly content at that point. He figured out what I was doing then.
Still too awake to go back to bed easily, I tried holding him and rocking him again, but he just reached for the door like he wanted a change of scenery. I gave in and took him into our living room. I didn't turn on any lights, using the night light from Patrick's room to light the way. Patrick was very curious about where we were. It looked different from any room he knew because he had never seen it so dark before. Looking around at everything kept him quite distracted, and I was able to sit on the couch with him on my lap.
After a few minutes like that, I started noticing the silhouette of his head dropping forward. I adjusted his position on my lap, and he settled face-down across my chest with his head on my shoulder. I think he dozed off for a few minutes in that position and then jerked awake, pushing himself back up. A few minutes after that, he started nodding off again. I readjusted him yet again, and he settled back down on me. When he woke up again, I decided he was probably drowsy enough to sleep in his bed again.
I very slowly walked him back to his room, let him readjust to his new surroundings, and placed him carefully in his bed. He smiled at me when I handed him his fuzzy blanket and was nearly asleep as I closed the door behind me. I have never had him go to bed that easily before.
When I went back to bed, I had an even harder time falling asleep than before. I kept remembering that sweet moment with my baby cuddled up against me, having him perfectly comfortable because Mommy was his pillow. These moments have started happening less and less frequently, and I couldn't help thinking even as it was happening that it could very well be the last time for a middle-of-the-night cuddle like that. Somehow that thought only made me cherish it even more.
Labels: Sweet Stories
1 Comments:
Awwww... that is so sweet! Those special quiet times will mean so much when you look back years from now. I'm glad you were awake to enjoy it.
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