Icards in Pineville: SILENT NIGHT....not in this house!

I keep hearing of these families with kids that go to bed at 7:30 and sleep all night, and even better, if the kids haven't had a nap, they get tucked in at 6:30 and are in dreamland for twelve hours. These are not out kids. Sure, we've never had major sleep issues with either one thus far, but the idea that we might put both boys down early and enjoy a movie or conversation is a foreign concept to us. We're lucky if one of the boys is in bed asleep before 8:30. And naps...well, Eli doesn't really need or want a nap anymore (who am I kidding, he's never wanted a nap). This does not affect his bedtime at all. Totally unfortunate for us. Finn is getting on a nap schedule - moving him to a crib has helped his sleep during the day, but he's wide awake until at least 8:30 every night. Again, parents with kids that go to bed before 9 are strange species to us.

So the past few nights have been, well, torture to us. I know there are other parents out there with far worse sleeping situations, but for us, this is bad. Let me give you a rundown of the past two nights...you will be thankful for the bad night of sleep you have been complaining about. :)

Wednesday Night
Put Eli to bed around 8:30...
Eli gets up out of bed numerous times until 10, when I finally give in a lay down with him.
At some point I wake up and go to bed.
Midnight - Finn wakes up (he has a little cold that's making it hard for him to breathe through his nose). Feed Finn and go back to bed.
2 a.m. - Finn wakes up again. Feed Finn.
4 a.m. - Finn wakes up again. Try to feed Finn, but he's not interested.
5 a.m. - Finn wakes up again. Tell Kevin that it's his turn to take care of Finn because he's not hungry (which Kevin can't do anything about). Kevin tries to rock him, but the little guy is so congested that he can't settle).
We realize that we need to suction out his nose. I can't find my glasses. Where are they?!? Finally Kevin finds them in Eli's room where I took them off to lay down with him.
5:15 a.m. - Suction out Finn. He's wide awake. I am wide awake. Kevin is wide awake. Good Morning.

Thursday Night
Things are already out of whack because it was Eli's Christmas program at school.
8:45ish - Put Eli to bed. Eli doesn't wan to go to bed. Kevin lays down with him (I know, bad parenting, but we're desperate).
9:30 - Finn FINALLY falls asleep.
9:45 - I lay down in bed, exhausted.
12:30 - I wake up alone in bed. Lights still on downstairs. Never took the dog out. Kevin still asleep in Eli's bed. Wake Kevin up so he can turn off the lights and do his insulin. The dog is not moving, so he can wait until morning.
2 a.m. - Finn wakes up. I feed Finn.
4 a.m. - Finn wakes up. He doesn't want to eat. Too congested.
4:15 - Eli comes into our room yelling "peek-a-boo" thinking it's time to wake up. Kevin puts him back to bed.
5 a.m. - Finn wakes up. Need to suction his nose out. We are up again. Good Morning.

You'd think we'd be exhausted, but we're not. Coffee has a lot to do with that, especially the 12 cups that we make each morning for just the two of us and the regular trips I make to the Starbucks drive-thru many afternoons. We're amazed at how our bodies just go and do what they need to do to make it through the day. The exhaustion usually hits us by dinner time, but then we have a glass (or two) of wine or a beer and that seems to mask the weariness that we feel.

The point of all this: 1) Maybe Santa will bring us sleeping children for Christmas, 2) Maybe if you read this you will not complain about the lack of sleep you've been getting (especially if you don't have any kids at home anymore, and 3) Maybe it will make me feel just a tiny bit better to have sympathy about our sleepless nights. Anyway, we won't hold all this against Eli and Finn, although it will be fun to wake them up bright and early when they're older to cut the grass or rake leaves. Ha ha ha....their time will come. :)

Here are a few pics from last night's concert: