July 19, 2005
The Sleepless
filed under: DadditudesMax had a bad sleep weekend. We think it was an ear infection, as he spent Friday with a toasty fever, and many of the times he woke up shrieking he seemed to be pawing at the side of his head. At some points, in the middle of the night, he was inconsolable, so we brought him to bed with us.
Unfortunately, this month, "to bed with us" means onto the L-shaped sofa that already barely contains Lisa and myself without us headbutting each other viciously in our sleep. So the hours spent with Max also on the couch, while comforting to the poor little blighter, weren't what I would call the best sleep we've ever had.
All of which was fine, because the poor tot was sick and miserable.
But then after a few days he was no longer sick and miserable. And he kept waking up and wanting to come to bed with us anyway, just because he liked it. And, because it's hard to reason with a 2 year old and even harder when that 2 year old is still 70% asleep, we let him.
If we had forgotten what it was like for the 7+ months that Max didn't sleep through the night - and we had - we've been reminded. It is not, on balance, Good Times. But sometimes, in the punchy netherworld, some good times can be had in a bitterly humorous kind of way.
4:00am Monday morning:
Max: [Mostly sleeping] mmmf... waaagh... couch!Posted by rjt at July 19, 2005 11:36 AMDaddy: You want to come onto the couch.
Max: Mm-hmmm.
Daddy: [Sigh. Pause.] Okay.
[Carries Max to couch. Max immediately kicks Mommy in the face.]
Mommy: Ow! Buddy!
[Max settles down. Minutes pass, during which Mommy and Daddy have just fallen back asleep. Suddenly:]
Max: Cheese!
Daddy: What?
Max: CHEESE!
[Pause.]
Max: CHEESE!
Mommy: You want cheese?!
Daddy: Buddy, it's four o'clock in the morning!
Max: CHEEEEEEEEESE!
Daddy: Well, are you going to eat it this time? Or are you going to just wipe it on the couch, like last time?
Max: Couch.
Daddy: Huh. Well, at least this time we know it going in.
[Mommy goes to get Max a piece of cheese. Max does not eat the cheese. Max wipes cheese on the couch.]
[Two minutes pass. Mommy and Daddy are nearly asleep.]
Max: 'nana!
Mommy: You want a banana?
Max: Uh-huh.
Mommy: Are you going to eat that cheese?
Max and Daddy [together, sing-song-y]: No-o!
[Daddy and Mommy laugh. A bit crazily.]
Daddy: Never let it be said I don't know my own kid.
Mommy: Buddy? Why did you put your cheese on my neck?
Max: NANA!
Daddy: You're not getting a banana, it's four fifteen and you didn't even eat your cheese.
Max: [Grumps a bit. Tosses and turns, kicks Mommy in the head]
Mommy: [Giggles.] Hey hon? [Giggles.] You want some cheese?
Daddy: No! I'm not eating your warm neck cheese!
[Mommy and Daddy dissolve into choking laughter.]
Max: NANANANANANA!
Mommy: [Sighs] Well, I have to go throw this cheese out anyway.
[Mommy gets Max a banana, part of which will be found, brown and gooberized, in Mommy's hair the next morning.]