Friday, December 18, 2009

Baby it's cold outside...

On Monday we flew down here to North Carolina for a bit of family time before the holiday. I was a little skeptical about flying that day since Elisa had been running a low-grade fever since the afternoon before, but I figured we would have plenty of hands on deck to help us recuperate. I was partly right. Elisa adores her cousins and all the attention from Aunt Stacey and Uncle Mark, and of course, Grandma and Grandpa. So much so that her playing and eating and dancing around have all been much enhanced since her fever finally broke on Wednesday morning. But the sleep--not so much.

For whatever reason, Elisa has taken a little hiatus from her normally STELLAR sleeping patterns. The naps are poof! over in 40 minutes and the nighttime sleep is like dealing with a screamy newborn again. You just don't know how long before she cries out again. And again. And oh, God, again. This morning I actually found myself laying in bed with a pillow over my head trying to muffle out the crying and see if perhaps she was just testing me at 6 a.m. Maybe she was about to fall back asleep? Why did she stop and then start again every 5 minutes giving me just enough hope that I wouldn't have to get out of bed to comfort her.

Funny that just a week or so ago I was listening to another mom talk about her week of sleepless hell, and I just couldn't fathom it. I think somewhere in my brain there is a space reserved for the dark, sleepless nights we spent with Elisa as a newbie and the longer we go between occurrences, the harder it is to remember what that felt like. But it doesn't take long for it to come bouncing back. Which of course, makes me feel like I am NEVER going to be ready for another baby. How, how, how do people do this? I read with earnest enthusiasm about my friends having second (and third) kids and I just wonder what in the world that kind of exhaustion feels like. I am barely keeping up with one kid after a minor cold. But I guess that's the beauty of life, that we never really know what we're getting ourselves into until it's too late. Luckily, right now, I am just pondering all of this and enjoying the time I have to take a sleepless night (or five) every once in a great while and remember that "normal" life will resume. I just have to be patient.

2 comments:

Maggie said...

Poor girl... well, Elisa, too. It's just plain rough having your sleep disrupted over and over again, whether it's a short patch or a long one. The good news though is that you remember it will eventually resolve itself and there's a light at the end of the tunnel. With the first one, you don't know if this will EVER end. Now we know that it does, of course. Doesn't make it easier though (says the woman who has trouble talking clearly most days).

Merry Christmas. Give everyone a big smooch for me.

micki said...

As I too,lay in bed these days with a pillow over my head, I also think back to the first months when we would sprint awake at the first peep Hiro would make. Those days of nervous (non)sleeping are long gone, even if the sleepless nights arestill occasionally with us. Happy Holidays and have a fabulous time with your family!