'Tis the Season

to be crazy...



So it's been awhile. Not sure what I've been doing that has kept me away, but I'm back. Whew. Going through my stack of stories, and there are some good ones, and deciding what to share. Gym pooping and social ostracism or bungee cord door?

Let's go with the cord. It's the most recent.

So, Dec figured out how to get out of his crib awhile ago. And I was very proud of my fabulous mothering when he did what I asked him immediately and cut that shit off. But you know what I say about pride. It'll always come back on you.

And last week it did. Wednesday, Declan didn't nap. He got out of bed every time he got the chance and came down to meet me in the living room. I figured it was a fluke.

Thursday, I heard a rustling in the monitor, turned, opened my eyes slightly and found a big, round face. "Mama". He didn't bother to call for me, probably because coming directly to the source is much easier. Nap time came and went and no nap occurred. Then bedtime which only took a few upstairs trips, and then he was out.

Now, it's important to note that Declan is a rock star sleeper. After a rough start, he is like clockwork. But I've learned that I took a lot for granted. Because at 11:30 on Thursday, 30 minutes before Rich gets home from Philadelphia, I heard a rustling and a wide awake Declan came down to meet me.

To tell the truth, I was actually a little excited. Rich travels every week and never gets to see Declan when he comes home. This would be a special treat. So I brought D into our room and lay him in our bed. I figured if he wanted to be with me so badly that he was refusing his own room, maybe he could take a little nap and Rich could come home to a little surprise.

12:30 came and went, no Rich. And no sleep for Declan who decided he wanted to roll around, yell doggie, touch my nose, and giggle at nothing. So let's get this straight: Declan can escape his room (and don't even mention the door handle thingies, Declan promptly takes those bitches apart and throws them on the floor), and comes down the stairs at every chance he gets, but will not go to sleep next to mommy.

So...how is he going to sleep, ever! I called Rich to ask where he was and it turns out that he was having his own problems. On the coldest night of the year, -6, Rich not only had a dead battery in the airport parking lot, but on his way home, got a flat tire on 435. And when he got home at 2:30am it was to Declan and I on the couch. D not quite asleep, but getting there.

So, being the trooper he is, he scooped Declan up and put him in his bed; only to be met with rustling a few minutes later when D ditched the bed and went down where the action was.

So at this point, D has lost seven hours of sleep. This kid is a mess. He did the silent cry because he wanted a goldfish and didn't get it. The silent cry.

It was a long weekend.

Friday afternoon, Declan did nap for about an hour. We transformed the bed and put on the toddler rails thinking that if he escaped he'd at least be able to get back in. And we put a gate on the door.

At nap time, Dec immediately got out of his bed and opened the door. And, seeing the gate, screamed. For an hour. Then passed out in place on the floor in front of the gate.

There's a special kind of sadness when you see your exhausted, stubborn kiddo like this. And I decided an hour into his much needed nap to put him back in bed. But he woke up. And didn't go back to sleep.

Onto Friday night. A new solution: bungee cord. If he can't open the door, he can't see the now-obsolete gate. It worked. He didn't escape the room. But at 11:30, when Rich and I were brave enough to take a look, we found him and yaya (his blankie) passed out in front of his bookshelf. Again, no bed. This time when we put him in bed, he fell asleep, which was great. But come 4:00am, we heard him but could no longer see him in his bed. He had chosen instead to sleep in his chair. Sitting up. PTFO.

The next two nights were spent moving sleeping Declan from his chair, where he had meticulously moved all of his stuffed animals to keep him company, back to his bed. And eventually he got it. Although Rich did find him sleeping on his window seat in the morning and today when I put him down for a nap, he was up and at 'em again, exploring that newly free room. But right now, as I type, he is sleeping in his toddler bed, stuffed animals in tow.

I need a nap.