My early mornings usually include a phone call either to my mother or from her, and her first question is, “how was your night?” I think she’s been asking me this question every morning since my oldest was born 4 ½ years ago. Initially I shared stories of night feedings, endless crying, confusion about how to care for a newborn while being completely sleep deprived, etc. Then we switched to discussing sleep training, teething, gross motor milestones, talking, you know….the next phase of why I wasn’t getting any sleep. And now, with three kids under the age of 5 (and the dog) I usually simply respond that I was up all night for one torturous reason or another.
Sometimes I look back to when I was a younger lady, say…..in my 20’s, when the question, “how was your night?” took on an entirely different meaning than it does now. It usually meant, “where did you go out”, “did you have fun” or “did you meet anyone???”. Those were the days when I slept like a rock. The days when I actually used an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. Oh yes, and when I woke up to sunshine instead of fumbling around in the dark with flame-less candles still lit to light my path to one of the kid’s rooms.
My oldest went through a phase where he would call me into his room simply to report that he had a dream about the Power Rangers, or Iron Man. I would say, “that’s great” and wonder why I needed to know this at 2am. I think the completely useless wake-ups are the most annoying. When all the kids are asleep but the dog decides to start walking around the bedrooms and make you jump up in a panic that she’ll wake the kids. Or when the wind/rain/thunder wakes you and it’s not even family member related. Or the worst….when the toddler accidentally sets your alarm clock to go off at 12:30am. Please remind me to throw that thing away! Why do we have it anyway!
For some reason if I hear any kind of noise or movement on the baby monitor my first reaction is to stop breathing and stay very still. As if I’m a deer in the woods and if I don’t move a muscle then nothing bad will happen. I have to remind myself that if I breath or move the kids really can’t hear me. And it doesn’t work anyway. I can hold my breath all I want…..I’ll still hear the crying, the calling for mommy, the little footsteps running down the hall towards my room, etc. I feel like I’ve heard it all. “Mommy, I want to sleep with you.” “I had a bad dream.” “I have to go potty.” “I’m soaking wet.” “Is it morning yet?” No, its not….go back to bed!
My boys like to sleep with water in their sippy cups in case they wake up thirsty in the middle of the night. And my older son likes to keep it in his bed wedged between his pillows. So, I thought I was being a good mommy and filling up his cup for him after he fell asleep (I noticed it was empty). I was going to just put it on the nightstand but thought he’d be looking for it in bed. A few hours later I hear him call me to his room (which he rarely does now) and tell me he’s all wet (but hasn’t had an accident in over a year!). Then I realized his shirt is wet, not his pants. The sippy cup leaked all over! His shirt, sheets, pillow, comforter. Ugh.
And them sometimes it’s really bad. Last night my daughter was whimpering, then crying, then screaming bloody murder. Nothing we could do would console her. I’m suspecting an ear infection and already have an appointment set up with the ENT. So, we tried Tylenol, walking her around, rocking, taking her downstairs and turning the TV on, etc etc etc. Watching the clock inch closer and closer to morning and knowing the boys would be up and the day would eventually begin (with or without any additional sleep) is just torture. And hoping I make it through the day without putting the milk away in the pantry or putting dinner in the oven without turning it on. You know….sleepless mommy type stuff.
Does this ever end? I think I’ve heard it ends right around the time you develop insomnia and they begin to oversleep and miss the school bus in the morning.
Nope, it never ends. My oldest is 18 and I still check to make sure he is breathing when he’s sleeping. I don’t think he knows that. haha I check the little ones constantly–mainly because at least one of my littles sleeps with us every night. My husband jokes around that our children are spring loaded towards me!
So, to answer your question, No, it never ends. Once they are old enough to go out, you worry about them driving home at night, so you don’t sleep. I’m surviving on 4 hours of sleep today because of a medical issue with my 18 year old–he slept great, I was a nervous wreck,
My mom still makes this call.
LOL It does end eventually. My boys don’t wake me up at night anymore, but they are super early risers, especially on the weekend.
I hear ya! I swear our two have conspired and are taking shifts keeping us up.
OMg I love your bedspread. Where did you get it?
Thanks!! Bed Bath and Beyond!
Nope! It never ends. If you don’t have younger ones to deal with, you have older ones who want to talk.
I don’t think you ever get a real good nights sleep once you have kids.
I have been sleeping pretty well. I usually only have problems when the weather is bad. Hope you get some really good sleep soon!
I hope your daughter is ok and you get the change to enjoy a good nights sleep.
I went away for a retreat last weekend and it was the first time I had uninterrupted sleep. It was SO nice and much needed.
It gets better, at least it did for us! My kids sleep really well, but man do they get up early! I’m dying for a sleep-in Saturday, lol!
I just bribed my kid tonight to stay in bed in the morning until mommy or daddy wakes him up. lol
It ends when you are desperate enough to let a 2-hr movie babysit so you can nap and when if you homeschool you almost never have to wake up early 🙂 I hope you sleep well tonight.
We definitely had a lot of those moments. I hope you get a good night’s sleep soon!
My daughter usually sleeps through the night now, unless she kicks off her blankets and gets cold…then she whines til I go cover her. Now, the dog on the other hand wakes me most nights to go pee :/
I am pretty much sleepless! Baby girl keeps me up at night and my aunt or sister calls me early in the morning. Can’t forget hubby leaving for work at 5am.. blech.
I hope you can get a good nights sleep soon.
I do think there comes a time when you can sleep. My kids are 15, 13, and 7 and thankfully other then my daughter crawling into bed a few times it is usually a quite night (once hubby turns off the TV)
It changes. I sleep fine when everyone is healthy and home. My oldest is nearly 21 and if he’s out, I can’t sleep until I know he’s in the house. If one of the kids is sick, I revert back to the baby days when I worry if they’re breathing.
I love that bedding too! I always think I am going to worry about my kids once they are gone and I can’t check on them when I want.
Just be happy you don’t have night terrors. My son had those and they are the worst.
All the loves and joys of being a mom. How our life changes. Hope your daughter is feeling better soon and you can grab a restful night sleep
Pretty bedspread!
I’m always still alert when I’m sleeping! Maybe it will go ways after the kids are gone…
We are sooooo in this very place right now with our 5 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old. BUT … things recently got better (at least with the baby). He had NEVER slept through the night and routinely woke up 3-4 times a night. A friend suggested epsom salt baths — they’re supposed to remove toxins from the skin and end up calming the bathers for a better night sleep.
No lie — after his first epsom salt bath, the baby slept all through the night for the first time EVER. It’s amazing. It’s about $3 a bag and so worth it me! We have used it on the others, but with my middle child, we realized it was causing him to sleep TOO soundly and he started having accidents at night (he just wasn’t waking up in time to go). Once we stopped the baths for him, the accidents stopped.
So, it definitely helps them all sleep — just some more than others, lol. 😉