June 11, 2008

Letter to my darling boy, Shane

Dearest Shane,

Today marks the 47th day that you've been in our lives. We are getting to know you more every day and you are a sweet, cute little boy. However, today also marks the 47th day since your mommy and daddy got to sleep through the night. I realize you are also just getting to know us, and that you may not realize that mommy's and daddy's really like to sleep and that we MISS SLEEPING very very much. Now, just so you know, we wouldn't trade you back in for a full night's sleep most days, but today isn't most days. Today is the morning after the third or maybe even fourth night in a row that you've decided sleeping IS for sissies. It's like you're looking at me with those BIG WIDE OPEN beautiful baby eyes and saying,

"Sleep? Why sleep when I can cry exactly 10 minutes after you lay me down - ALL night long".

I drag myself back out of bed, I replace the wa-wa (that's a pacifier for those of you that don't speak Bridgetese), I pat, I shoosh, I turn you on your side (just a little don't worry) I watch those eyes grow heavy...heavier...until they are fully closed and your breathing is nice and heavy - surely you are asleep now. I crawl back to bed, fluff the pillow and have just long enough to drift back to my Zack Morris dream (yes, I do frequently dream about SBTB) when...... [insert the highest pitched screaching sound you've ever heard and then multiply it by 10]. I look at the clock - it's been exactly 10 minutes. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (Mommy stole that line from another blog or somewhere, but it's so true - that's how I feel all night.)

So, son, it's time to shape up. I realize you might just be sticking it to me, what with all the bragging I was doing last week about how newborn nights aren't really that bad and that we manage pretty well and how you personally were doing so well that I was sure you'd almost be sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. In fact, retrospectively, I deserve it - hell, I'd probably do it to myself if you weren't stepping up to the plate - I deserve it that much.

In closing, my dear boy, since I've acknowledged my overconfidence and missteps, do you think it's time to start sleeping at night again? Let's put away the screaming, let's be nighttime pals again. Let's go back to the Max with Zack, Kelly, Lisa and A.C. (I hate Jesse and Screech, I'm not inviting them into to my dreams.) We'll all be a lot better off, little man, if we all get a little more shut eye.

Love always,

Your mommy

PS - Until this stinkiness ends, I'm not allowing you to see or talk to your cousin. I don't want you filling her head with any ideas. In fact, according to her mommy, you may have already showed her how to shake things up a little during the day, so until you learn to play nice, Amelia's off limits.

3 comments:

Kim said...

Apparently they already talking and Shane is filling her head with all this non-sense of not sleeping at night!

Maybe we should leave our husbands to the night shift and go to a nice spa somewhere..... though, I have a feeling the husbands would get their normal amount of sleep and the kids would be starving!

Aimee said...

I second Kim's proposal and alas, her prediction.

That was a really cute post, EEJ.

mom said...

I wish you the best of luck. 'Sad to say, newborns don't come with a sense of "mommy needs to sleep". Let us know if we can help... but as you know, grandmas need sleep too!