It’s 8 o’clock at night. Bridget has been in her bed for an hour. A blessed hour. This is one kid who enjoys her sleep. Usually at 6:30 pm she starts asking for her pajamas and bed. I put her off until 7 pm knowing she will be up at the butt crack of dawn or 7 am as the locals call it. That rain, shine or Apocalypse this child has an internal clock more accurate than my alarm clock.
Abby on the other hand…does not understand the joy I receive when my kids go to bed. It starts with the standard delay tactics: bathroom routines followed by one more kiss. Habitually sending her back in to actually brush her teeth after that goodnight kiss proved she may not have used toothpaste despite her best protest. When she actually goes to bed there is at least three times before 9pm that she “has to use the bathroom” or she has to tell me “something that is important”.
I think it is safe. I pour my wine and begin to read my book. But wait, there she is. Again. Telling me “I can’t sleep”. Why? why can she not sleep. I love to sleep. I enjoy my bed. I look forward to the time when I can just sleep.
Finally, she is asleep. David is working. The kids are in bed and I make my way to that wonderful place called sleep.
3am
Abby: Mom….MOm….MOM….MOOOOOMMMMMMM
Me: (drool running down my cheek) What?
Abby: I can’t sleep
What the freaking hell?
She crawls into bed with me. Apparently I am a sedative. She is asleep within in moments. Her knee in my back. Her arm over my throat in a choke hold. Her stuffed animal between us.
When the kids go to bed I hope they stay there. At least twice a week it may happen.
This is how I finished the sentence, “When the kids go to bed…..”
(Un)Diagnosed and still okay 
I can honestly say, I know this feeling so well and it is usually Lily that will crawl into bed with me and then magically fall back to sleep, while I am then wide awake for hours on end. So, praying that they all stay put in bed tonight now for us 😉
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Tucker used to actually kick me out of his room. I was sad at the time. Now??? Each night, I have to fall alseep with him ON me, and then, he wakes in the middle of the night wanting me. I try to remember that this is fleeting and that I’ll miss it but OMG. Yeah. Also wine. And um is this my second comment??? Because I already commented…
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I used to have that problem. The 3 kids slept in shifts for years. YEARS! I developed, since then, narcolepsy and other things too personal to discuss here but it’s serious mental health stuff. I swear that serious mental health stuff is related to the severe chronic sleep deprivation I suffered while the husband worked and the kids would never sleep. And you have to let the husband sleep more than you because he works. He needs the sleep for a job. It’s just too much. BUT what has helped besides my MIL’s advice on clean babies (bath) and full tummies (dinner, second dinner, and midnight snack) is Melatonin. I just give my kids 2.5 milligrams of that in a chewable, and they usually go to sleep within 20 minutes. Someday, I might define my crazy better, but until then, just take my word for it. YOU NEED TO FIND A SOLUTION. YOU CANNOT KEEP GOING LIKE THAT. Please don’t end up like me. Definitely do not feel guilty for hogging sleep. The husband can handle staying awake 24 hours a day if you need to shift sleep.
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My 6 yr-old is the same way! He fights sleep as thought it is a matter of life and death, and then he sneaks in bed with me at some point during the night. And somehow, that tiny little boy manages to take up so much more space than I do! I completely understand the knee in the back and the choke hold. Someday, they’ll outgrow this, right?
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I like the idea (in the abstract) of Mommy as sedative. Although, as Michelle notes, it is not sustainable. Over time, I simply started taking my nocturnally wandering kids back to bed. They seem to learn that they weren’t going to be able to go to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s bed. Which cut down on the 3 AM interruptions. Good luck! (and great name change for the blog!!!!)
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I have two who routinely end up in my bed and nothing sucks more in the middle of the night, then a knee in the back! My daughter sleeps like a windmill.
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Lol! A very familiar scene! For us though it is usually nightmares at 3 a.m.
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My oldest is like that too. A serious rip-off. Her sister rarely pulls those bedtime shenanigans. Drives me crazy. I’ve got Breaking Bad to watch and chocolate to eat, people!
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My kids are good sleepers but my husband isn’t. Which is kinda funny.
Sometimes Scarlet comes into bed with us. I always allow it because it’s not often and because I know someday it will stop happening. Yet if you say Abby still does it, then maybe my time isn’t so limited!
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So I have to first tell you that every single time… EVERY SINGLE TIME I come here I literally GASP when I see that ADORABLE,GLORIOUS picture of that precious girl!!! Seriously- oh the JOY in that gorgeous face of hers!!! Every time. It gets me. EVERY. TIME. Don’t ever change it, okay?
As for this post? I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! Oh girl, I get it, You crack me UP with the way you described it. You speak the hearts of EVERY mama. There is always one child… who kills us with this sleep thing!!! I guess we should be grateful it’s just one of them, eh? Pff.
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Thanks, that is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of Bridget. It seriously captures her entire spirit!
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Awwwww that photo of your poppet sound asleep? So precious. Isn’t it interesting how different they are? Mine were the same. My daughter fell into bed and not a peep from her ’til morning . My son went to sleep after multiple delay tactics and then would quite often pay me a visit around 2:00 AM with Snuggles his stuffie pup. Psst: I do miss that.
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I love to sleep so much… makes me want to be selfish and not have children for my mental health’s sake!
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I feel for you, Kerri. There is a reason my side of the bed is furthest from the door. But if a kid wanted to sleep in our bed now, I’d go in their bed – no room for three adult sized people in a queen bed!
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Oh, PAINFULLY familiar, Kerri. Both my kids need someone next to them in order to fall asleep, yet the very presence of another person in the room prolongs bedtime to an hour sometimes two. The title of the book: Go The F to Sleep, definitely pops in my head more often than not 🙂 I loved the topic this week and it’s always comforting that others go through the exact same things.
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My daughter, now 12, didn’t sleep through the night for years and I was exhausted ALL THE TIME. I need my sleep. I like my sleep. I still enjoy a good nap. I feel this post even though it has been awhile since I’ve had little ones. 😉
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Last week, I dedicated myself to making sure my kids STAY in their rooms to go to sleep. This week, it’ll be in their bed. Bee doesn’t like to sleep at all, so is happy to come join me in my bed wide awake and it’s rubbed off on her sister!
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