Mama Monkey has a parking pass now. So I don’t drive her to work, and Cole doesn’t fall asleep on the way home. Good, right?
Except apparently he doesn’t fall asleep at all.
To make a long story short, fought for sleep for 3 hours. His aunt came over with lunch today (thank God) and got to witness the bleary eyes and the complete unwillingness to sleep.
After he finally went down, h sllept for 2, which was good but still felt too short. He actually woke up after an hour, but I coaxed him back to sleep with some rocking and shh-ing.
Then it took forever to get an afternoon excursion organized. So we just went to the dogpark. He fought his nap again, but eventually went under in the stroller. Which meant to let him nap uninterrupted, I had to take about a 1.5 hour walk. Balu was angry with me.
That’s about it.
It was so exasperating this morning that a few times I wondered about the sound-dampening capabilities of a snowbank. Then I remembered that you can’t just leave a baby in a snowbank, so I decided against that plan. I did abandon him in a crib for about 15 minutes while I regained my sanity. He mostly cried, but had a few peaceful moments in which he tricked me into thinking he was sleeping. Of course, entering the nursery to check just set him off again.
Without going into lengthy descriptions like previous posts, let’s just say that this was probably the most challenging day so far in terms of naps. Tomorrow I will use the car as a crutch, for I do not want to go crazy.
Oh, one last thing I observed today: the act of closing his eyes made him angry. This is the kind of kid he is. Some walking, singing, and rocking calmed him down, and the eyes got droopy. Droopy, droopy… closed.
But as soon as they closed, he began emitting a wild screaming cry. Which of course woke himself up.
He HATES going to sleep. I’m sure that’s what it is. As soon as the eyes close and his body says “sleepy time”, his mind gets furious and screams, “I DON’T THINK SO! I’M RUNNING THIS GAME!” The body eventually wins, but 3 hours of crying is a lot to endure.
Legend has it of worse sleepers, so I guess I should be thankful. On the other hand, stories are common and plentiful about babies (like my godson as an infant) who will just fall asleep on their playmats, toys, etc. I would feel a lot more thankful with one of those!
Of course, by bedtime I was in love with the little guy all over again. I think it’s the dimples and giggles. Win you over every time.
