Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I'm Afraid of the Night

I have a new post up over on How Do You Do It? on sleep advice, and it got me thinking about sleep and how I'm not getting any lately. Here's why.

I generally start out in my own bed, with my husband, as most married couples do. I go to bed after all three of the boys are already asleep, around 11:30 p.m. Then I read for another 20 minutes or so. Then I fall asleep. And that's when it begins.

Around 2 a.m., one of the boys will scare me awake by staring at me. (Just staring. Like a serial killer. It creeps me out.) He finally climbs in on my side of the bed, where I wrap my arms around him because I don't want him to roll out and die - and I can't put him in the middle of the bed because then he'll kick daddy in the you-know-whats.

A few hours later, the second boy will come in, and may even begin throwing a fit when he sees his coveted spot next to me is already taken by another boy. (No, he can't go sleep by daddy, because of the aforementioned kicking and because daddy is not soft and cuddly like mommy, i.e. I have soft boobs). So I maneuver myself out of my own bed, from under the first sleeping boy, and take the second boy back to his room so that he and I can sleep in his tiny little twin bed.

If I'm lucky, that's where my husband wakes me up when he goes to work, so I can get back into my own bed in time to hear my alarm.

If I'm not lucky, the first boy awakes again at some point to find I'm not there and comes looking for me. I'm very popular. He finds me in bed with the second boy, again wakes me by staring, at which point I get into the first boy's bed with him, leaving the second boy asleep in his own bed.

Have you been counting? That's three beds for me so far. I'm doing more bed-hopping than a sorority girl at a liberal arts college.

Or if I'm lazy (which I would be by 4 a.m., right?), I'll just bring the first boy into bed with me and the second boy. That's one adult and two half-sized human children IN ONE TWIN BED.

I look forward to the day when, like my own 50-something mother, I will be able to survive on four hours of sleep each night. Until then, you can find me napping in my car over lunch.





 

6 comments:

Liz Jimenez said...

Ooh, not good times. I mean sure, the occasional cuddle is really nice and all, but that's a VERY disruptive night for all of you!

Of course, having just Ferberized my twins, my initial reaction is, "time for some sleep training!" But I admit to being biased and having Ferber on the brain. In truth, the answer is never that straightforward, is it?

Good luck. I hope things get better, as it sounds like nobody in your house is getting a restful night's sleep!

Lissa said...

I have considered sleep re-training! :) I think hubby is the only one getting a good night's sleep. He's deaf in one ear and sleeps on his "good" ear, conveniently...

Anonymous said...

We have a very strict No Children In Our Bed rule, but it's sort of bitten me in the ass, as I often find myself cramped in THEIR little twin sized beds!

Becky @ Our Sweet Peas said...

This post makes me so happy that mine aren't too mobile yet :) Is that messed up or what?? Keep up the good work they won't crawl in bed with you forever.

Stacy said...

That's when you buy one of them a queen sized bed. And, the most comfortable queen sized bed you can afford.

Found you via way of Goddess in Progress - we're a former Kansas Citian, relocated to Denver. Also with twins (who are almost 4).

Lissa said...

Stacy that is actually a great idea! I just might have to consider that one...