SOL 3: Overtired Baby

Last year at this time, I shared a story about my 4 month baby. He would get up in the middle of the night wanting a bottle and snuggles. Although getting out of bed was tough, those snuggles were amazing. You can read all about that HERE.

Last night, the old familiar call rang out. My husband and I couldn’t NOT hear it. His baby coos have turned into full blown toddler tantrums. And at midnight, he is not the snuggle bug he once was. We resisted for as long as we could. Then we heard the gagging sound we assumed was every mom’s worst nightmare: middle of the night throw-ups. Alas, it was a false alarm. But we had already shown ourselves. There was no turning back now.

Just as G-Man gets super upset when I leave him in the morning, during the mid-night, he is all Daddy’s boy. He screamed when Dada left and calmed again when he saw him return. It’s bittersweet when your little one wants comfort from someone other than Mommy. But my tired soul was thankful I could go back to bed even if I wouldn’t fall asleep until the hubby returned.

A few minutes before midnight I heard the call again and then the door to the nursery closing. Little man was back in his bed and screaming for Daddy’s return. He was clearly over tired. He would cry for a minute, lay down and pop back up again. It’s a battle we have been fighting on and off for a week. Damn ear infection. The Motrin was starting to ease his discomfort but he was not giving up…until he finally did. Little man fell asleep sitting up.

I watched on the monitor as he fought it for a good 15 minutes…arms flailing about then settling again at his sides all with his eyes closed leaning up against the crib rails. I thought for sure he would tumble over in a matter of seconds. But he stayed sitting up for quite some time. Imagine being so exhausted that you fall asleep with your favorite toys all around while sitting up.

He slept until 8:00am giving us a bit of time to rest up until the hustle and bustle of Sunday rituals began. His welcoming smile upon waking and Velcro attachment to me since, reminds me that his affection for dad in the wee hours isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I get the snuggles when the sun is hung high and I’m much more caffeinated.

I am writing for the 2019 March Slice of Life Challenge

16 Comments

  6. Oh gosh I can relate! My guy has never fallen asleep sitting up, but has definitely done some weird things while falling asleep… like yelling out “ice, ice baby!” and calling for Santa, like he was going to come get him out of bed. Haha also I think our babes must be the same age since mine was close to 4 months old this time last year too! Just over 15 months now! Great funny, relatable slice!

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  7. I loved the monitor picture of his sleeping sitting up in his crib. We had some brutal toddler years at our house because our boy would not sleep- and definitely resorted to the “I will cry until I throw up” technique if we tried to let him cry and settle himself. Sheesh. I don’t miss that now that he is 8 and I have some uninterrupted nights, but I do indeed miss the middle of the night snuggles.

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