Night Woes

Nighttime has gotten harder.

It used to be easy. Senpai used to take Rosemary upstairs and get her into bed while I nursed Poppy to sleep on the couch. Then I would carry Poppy up to her crib, kiss Rosemary goodnight, and Senpai and I would escape back downstairs. It was beautiful. We were guaranteed to be kid-free from 8 pm until Poppy woke up around 3 or 4 am. We even had our babysitter come one night, undetected by the kids, while we snuck out to see a movie. We should have done that more while we had the chance.

It started getting harder when Rosemary decided she was done having Daddy put her to sleep. Only Mommy would do. So then it was up to me to get both kids down because, though he tried, Senpai could not get Poppy to fall asleep. One after the other, I could get them both down by 9 pm. Of course, by then I'd be tired since I would have nursed Poppy to sleep by lying in bed with her for an hour. *yawn*

And now it has gotten even harder. Poppy is teething. It started with her wanting an 11 pm or midnight feed all of a sudden. And then it progressed. I would try to nurse her down, same as always, but she would pull off screaming, or wide awake, and certainly not the least bit tired. So we resorted to wearing her in the Boba carrier until she fell asleep. She spent the night before Christmas not dreaming of sugar-plums, but screaming. Oh yes, there were very many screams, and very little sleep. Christmas night had slightly fewer screams, but, oh, you should have seen the pains Senpai and I went through to keep Poppy out once she had fallen asleep in the Boba. Senpai carefully extracted her from the carrier (she was on my back) and laid her in bed, then I quickly tore my clothes off to hop in beside her, but not without accidentally ringing the bell we have hanging from our ceiling fan first. Senpai gave me wide eyes that said, "Are you kidding me?!!" Thankfully, the chime went unnoticed by the sleeping baby, and the bell now has a new home.

Each night since then has gotten slightly easier. For example, we didn't have to wear Poppy in the Boba to get her to fall asleep tonight. And there have been no screams. On the downside, Poppy has decided that she will not sleep without me. Oh, she'll nap during the day. That is, if I can get her upstairs still asleep without Rosemary shouting something random ("Tinkerbell! Where are you??") and waking her up first. But no, there is no nighttime sleep without Mommy anymore. So that is why I am typing this blog post on my phone. Pecking each letter out with one finger while I lie in bed next to a sleeping baby, with my sleeping husband beside her.

No more kid-free time, sigh.

Ah well, it won't last forever. At least, not while Les Mis in still in theaters. Right, Poppy? Please?