Radar

It has been a crazy 2 weeks around here. Janae is teething, Landon had a fever, my husband is getting sued and I'm just trying to keep caught up with everything and everybody. I'm not sure if I'm succeeding or not.

Lastnight, I decided to try something new and have our little night owl baby sleep in another room and give us at least one night of good sleep alone. She is almost 6 months old and is such a light sleeper that it seems that if you just pull the blankets up or fix your pillow just right, she's wide awake. She has her father convinced that she will not tolerate any attention he gives her mother and will loudly scream and cry no matter where we are or where she's sleeping. He says he's going to call her "Radar" from now on.

So, I had a nice bed fixed for her in the room right off of ours. She nursed well, was sleeping soundly and was put in her bed around 9:30pm. She impressed me by sleeping very well and not getting up once. For the first part of the night, I thought her radar was disconnected.

Her brother on the other hand, would not settle down until midnight. I went in once to refill his milk and another time to put a diaper back on his naked bottom. He kept playing, talking and making noise. This is so unlike him that I have to wonder if she didn't just put him in charge of her radar job before she went to bed.

Finally, he settled down and was quiet and I felt like at last I could go to sleep. All radar activity seemed to have gone to sleep and I was more than ready to join them. Toby had long since gone to sleep and was unaware of the night's events. I was just thinking that maybe I should go check on Janae just to make sure she isn't suffocating herself and that she is indeed asleep but then decided against it because she wakes up so easily.

I rolled over and sleepily whispered to Toby how much I loved sleeping with a husband when all of a sudden, I hear Janae's sweet little voice coo. Toby and I get within 2 feet of each other and her radar signals an alarm to get up. At least I knew she was still breathing and alive.

Sigh. Yawn.

I held my breath and waited several more minutes and didn't hear much more. Then she started cooing and making lots of noise. I decided to not go get her until she was crying inconsolably. She needs to know that when its dark, people sleep. Just as fast as the noise started, it stopped. Yaaaaawn... this will be an easy night. Radar was turned off again. False alarm.

I waited several more minutes. Then I thought I'd better go in and make sure a smashed little nose into the mattress wasn't what silenced her. I tip-toed quietly in, dodging the parts of the floor that always creaked and peered cautiously into the crib as if she is a nocturnal baby that can see in the dark. You wouldn't think so but with a baby that has radar, you never can be surprised.

She was sleeping soundly but all I could see of her head was her dark hair. That confirmed that she was sleeping with her nose smashed in. I softly felt her back: she was still breathing. Then I carefully reached for her nose. Smashed slightly but there was still warm air coming out. Knowing I could never go to sleep without moving her into a more "healthy" position, I carefully rolled her over. But it wasn't careful enough. I immediately saw bright eyes glowing in the dark. The radar had gone off.

I tried the "pat the bottom" thing but that wasn't good enough so I slipped out and went to my bed to wait for the wail. Soon, her fussing turned into crying and then my husband mumbled something about, "Chi-ald" as he rolled over in his sleep and probably went under his pillow.

I sighed. Got up and marched quietly to her bed. Even in the middle of the night, I love picking up a warm squirmy baby and bringing it to bed and cuddling with it. She was ready to eat and soon finished and was fast to sleep. I gave in and just put her in her co-sleeper next to our bed, covered her up and went to sleep myself.

Bright and early, I heard stirring and grunts from that baby again. So soon? Does radar ever sleep? I nursed her again and dozed on and off. She kicked and squirmed, fussed and nursed, smiled and laughed. Sometimes she slept but not that much.

Another sleepy start to another tiring day. If only I hadn't gone into check on her nose lastnight, maybe we all could've had a good night's sleep.

I guess I have radar too.