Finding Joy in the middle of the night

Shelby is teething.  She has two bottom teeth now and the top teeth are on their way in.

But as any mom knows, teething can be rougher on the parents than the teething kid.  You can hope for the best, but, guaranteed, you will have a few miserable sleepless nights.

 

We are no exception. 

Since I'm nursing, I'm usually the one who gets up in the middle of the night. Yes, I have to get up for work in the morning, but it is usually easier and quicker for me to get up, nurse, and get us both back to sleep.

Shelby had a few week period when she wouldn't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at night. 

So I got up one night because she was yelling in her crib.  I picked her up, cuddled her, nursed her, rocked her....did everything I could think of.  I was tired, frustrated and fed up.  So I put her bedroom light on and put her on the floor to play with her toys.  She yelled for a second then started playing.  I sat down on the futon and fumed and had every negative emotion in the book.  What else was I to do at 2am???

And then all of a sudden I had a change of heart.

I realized that these moments, however challenging, are precious.  What I wouldn't give to be able to walk Dan back to his room one night when he got up in the middle of the night.  So, I got down on the floor and started playing with Shelby at 2am.  We had the absolute best time...I had a smile on my face and laughed and laughed.