Up at 5am, Wait 4am!
Baby J. Napping on Daddy This Summer
Baby J.'s teeth woke her up this morning at 5am, that was until I realized it was daylight savings, and it was really 4am. She'd had a rough night. All of the excitement from Halloween had made her over-tired, and she spent the latter part of the evening cranky. I decided I'd lose some sleep and let Baby J. sleep on me for a couple hours until her normal wake up time. Now, I used to have to do this more often, especially when she was very little. It had been awhile since I allowed Baby J. to sleep on me, outside of her crib, and it wasn't any less uncomfortable this morning than any of the previous times.
It's sort of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I really do enjoy providing my little one with the comfort she needs (especially after a bad night of teething). On the other hand, I was exhausted, and having to be up at 5am (oh wait, 4am) did not exactly provide me with the nice, relaxing Sunday morning I had anticipated.
I'll briefly explain why it's also uncomfortable having Baby J. sleep on me. She's a living, breathing furnace. When she falls asleep, it's as if some little Baby Gremlin is feeding her body hot coals, because the oven comes on, and holding her causes me to break out into a sweat. Secondly, she never stops moving (especially in her sleep). Whoever came up with the expression "sleeps like a baby" must have been intentionally ironic, because babies in no way sleep soundly (not mine at least). She's always tossing around, changing positions, pulling at her hair, all while she dozes. Thirdly, if I move even a fraction of an inch during the time she's sleeping on me (to say readjust after she tossed and turned her elbow right into my head), she immediately wakes up, scrambles up on top of me, and grapples me tightly, ensuring that I don't move again lest I face the punishment of another grappling.
But what made it all worth it, what made me smile "so big" after those two hours of total discomfort, was how Baby J. woke. Without giving any other indication that she was awake, she quietly started muttering, "da da, da da" over and over again. Now, I've been told that a baby as young as Baby J. (she's 9 months) doesn't understand "da da" yet, but I find that pretty hard to believe that when upon waking and seeing her dad, she immediately says "da da".
After she was done whispering "da da" softly to me, she got up and gave my wife and I a huge smile. It was a pretty terrific way to start the day.
D.
