Bed rest with a 17 month old

On a typical night at my house Clay sleeps through the night and wakes up happy between 6:45 and 7:45 am. Here's a look into last evening and our day so far....

Last night, 8:00 pm: I feel tired AND like I might be able to sleep- a combination I have not felt in months. Maybe it's a good night for an early bedtime.

11:00 pm: I finally make it to bed after doing chores, resting, doing chores, resting, doing chores..... I'm really tired and wonder if I might sleep well tonight since I haven't been this tired in a while.

12:15 pm: Clay wakes up so I go in and replace his pacifier

1:15 am: Clay is up again so I give him teething tablets

1:30 am: Clay is up again so I give him some Tylenol and bring him into my bed (Mike's sleeping in the guest room due to my endless tossing and turning)

2:30 am: Chatty Cathy has not stopped talking for the last hour asking "What's that?" and pointing to things nobody else can see because it's so dark. I take him back to his own bed and he's happy to be there.

6:07 am: Clay is up crying and cannot be calmed so I end up bringing him in my bed.

6:15 am: Chatty Cathy is back so we might as well get up.

6:30 am: Clay is crying incessantly and not satisfied with anything. It's looking like a fun day! Honestly, he NEVER acts like this in the morning.

6:45 am: I feed Clay some french toast and try to give him a banana. He eats all of the french toast but won't take the banana. I keep asking him if he's "all done" or wants "more". He's crying and won't tell me anything so I clean him up and take him out of his highchair.

6:48 am: He's in the kitchen signing for more. More what? I take out some yogurt to see what he'll do and he seems okay with this. I put him in his highchair (causing a Braxton-Hicks contraction). He eats most of the yogurt while I sit and wait for the contraction to stop.

7:00-7:55 am: We play with stacking cups, read and try to keep the crying to a minimum (lots of climbing onto my lap and getting back down). A game of chase ensues between Clay and Lindsay (the dog). He's laughing so I'm more than happy.

7:56 am: It's back to bed (WAY earlier than usual) for a morning nap.

8:34 am: He's fussing again but calms himself after just seconds.

11:00 am: Nap time is over but a success. He's in a good mood.

11:10-11:40 am: Bath time. He's corralled and entertained. Peace.

11:40 am: Mike calls to talk about lunch and Clay starts whining to get out of the tub. Good timing.

11:45 am: I get Clay out of the tub as I'm having a Braxton-Hicks and manage to wrestle some lotion and some clothes on him. Victory.

12:00 pm: Daddy's home for lunch. We try to teach Clay the word "chip" by repeating it over and over but he's just giving us a blank stare and trying to figure out what the sign language is. He tries using both "drink" and "more" to get us to hand him a chip. Maybe next time.

1:00 pm: Daddy's gone. I'm in the bathroom and it gets really quiet in the house. I hurry into the dining room to see what is happening. Wow. Clay is STANDING ON A KITCHEN CHAIR trying to get a drink off the table. There's a first time for everything. How do you child proof for that???

1:05 pm: I'm cleaning off the kitchen table so there's nothing fun to "get" and it's too quiet again. Knowing my son, I immediately go back to my bathroom. In my haste, I hadn't put down the toilet seat lid. Clay is cleaning the seat with a piece of toilet paper from the roll- luckily it's dry. He's seen me do this a million times with bleach wipes- little eyes are always watching.

1:35 pm: I hear him dump all the dog food from her bowl all over the kitchen floor. Luckily, she ate it and cleaned it up.

2:00 pm: Nap time again and Mike's headed home.

Thank God Mike gets off early today AND his parents are coming in for the weekend. This bed rest is wearing me out.