Beaming Love

Please Sleep

"Maaaaaaama!  Maaaama!"

"She's up again."

"And?" Brad sluggishly turns towards me "I got up with her last time and she's clearly yelling for you."

I grab my robe, slowly forcing myself over to her room where she is sitting with the biggest grin on her little face waiting for me. 

"Hi baby," I pull her closer, rocking her back and forth in my arms "Did you have a bad dream?"

She rests her head against my chest, her thumb in her mouth as I slowly watch her eyes start to shut. I gently rock her, not wanting to stop too suddenly and chance her waking up right away. 

I feel her relaxing in my arms while her breathing slows letting me know she's finally more relaxed and might actually sleep more than twenty minutes this time. She eventually falls asleep completely, giving me the chance to lay her back in her crib with her babies. 

I slowly leave the room as quiet as possible to keep from waking her again, successfully making it out the door without any problems. 

"What are you doing?"

"As soon as you shut the door she woke up again. I can hear her moving around."

"Ughhhhhhhh. What is her problem tonight?"

"Yeah I might have taken her for some ice cream on our way home from the playground earlier. I normally get it before we go so she wastes her energy but the playground was on the way home from work so she saw it..."

"This should really be your problem then. You should be the one dealing with her."

"That's why I'm up, Jen..."

He walks into the room that we can now hear her screaming in, grabbing her from the crib immediately as she cries get even louder. I stay in the hallway hoping he can calm her until I eventually hear her saying something about wanting milk.

"Alright," I reach out for her "Come here."

I sit on the chair exhausted after a long day, wanting nothing more than to drift off to sleep when I feel her pulling at my robe, reaching in for my breast that she happily takes. 

"Didn't you feed her before bed? Poor kid is eating like she's been starved."

"Brad it's one AM. This is the third time I've fed her since she went to bed. I haven't had to feed her this much since she was a baby."

"Should I get one of her cereal bars? Maybe that will help. She's going to drink everything."

"I'll be fine. I don't want her eating anything like that before sleeping. It's not safe."

I feel her unlatching and look down to see her big, beautiful eyes looking up at me, not even the faintest bit of sleepiness in them. She has the best smile, even if seeing it means I'm forced to be awake way longer than I would have expected. 

"Mama?"

"What, baby?"

"No swep."

"Honey you have to sleep or you'll be too tired to play with your friends tomorrow. Grandma is taking you to the playground for craft time but you can only go if you sleep some more."

She starts freaking out again, reaching over for Brad hoping he can help. He just takes her, rocking her back and forth while I try my hardest to stay awake while watching them. 

"Shhh, baby you're fine. Mama and dada need to sleep..."

He fights with her bedtime tactics, trying everything he can think of as she absolutely refuses to close her eyes for even a second. She twists around in his arms nonstop trying everything she can do to keep from staying still.