Sweet Sleep

It was nighttime in our household. The only sounds that could be heard were the swishing of the dishwasher downstairs, Pachelbel's canon coming from Shana's temporary room and piano classics from Lena's room. I sleep with two monitors on my nightstand so that I can hear both of my babies when they call.

To give a little background, lately sleep has eluded me. Shana had been sleeping from 8-5 with no wakeups for a while. Lately, however, she had been waking multiple times throughout the night. I didn't feed her, but would put the pacifier in her mouth without saying a word to her. Then, I would rush back to the warmth of my bed, sinking into the deliciousness of our mattress. Just as I would drift into sleep, I'd hear her again. Even if I didn't respond until she fell back to sleep, I would find myself awake -- sometimes for hours during the night. This went on for a couple of weeks and I was exhausted.

But back to the story ...

This particular night, I was so tired as I went to bed. In fact, I had struggled with a migraine two nights before just from the exhaustion. And that night I started to come down with a cold. But I noticed that Shana had started to sleep through the night again - sporadically, but it was a start. And the times she woke, she would murmur a bit and go right back to sleep.

Wonderful, satisfying, restful sleep. Thank you, Lord. Sigh.

A high pitched, shrill cry pierced the softness of my dreams and I started in my sleep. Which girl was it, I thought sleepily looking at my pair of monitors. It was Lena. My blind -as- a -bat eyes squinted at the clock which read 3:30am. I threw back the covers and jumped out of bed (lately having perfected this into one fluid motion).

Lena is my dependable 12 - 13 hour a night sleeper. But the one night that I really needed it, here she was crying about something having to do with going potty and she wasn't calming down. I felt something akin to hysteria rising within and took some deep breaths. I was launching into a long dissertation of how she had awakened me and I was really tired and couldshepleasegobacktosleep?!!

The only response I got was more crying (she had wet her diaper and was upset that she hadn't gone in the potty), and I don't blame her for it. I can only imagine myself with bloodshot eyes and hair standing on end rambling to my two year old about how I was so upset that she had awakened me when her sister was peacefully sleeping next door.

Daddy woke up, so I must have been pretty loud. He could sleep through a tornado. He guided Lena into bed and waited while I prayed with her. He guided me into bed, speaking to me in soothing tones and hugging me until I was able to stop rambling about how I thought I would never get any sleep, and if it wasn't one girl it was another. I rambled about how we had a drs appt for Shana the next day and that now since Lena had been up at night, she would be tired and grumpy. My poor husband.

The next day he was still sympathetic and restructured his busy morning so that I could drop off Lena at his office while I took Shae to the doctor. I am so thankful for him.

I am also thankful that we are seeing the light of day (no pun intended) with this whole sleeping thing. Shana is turning back into my 8-5 sleeper slowly but surely. I knew we'd get there!!