Friday, October 10, 2008

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.

4 comments:

Jennifer W said...

Don't you love it that they would put a woman with children on bedrest? Yeah right. Take it easy lady! I'm sure the help this weekend will be nice so you put your feet up and get lazy with that little lady. Take care of yourself!

aniejoy said...

I know it isn't funny...but I had to laugh. Anyone who has ever tried to do ANYTHING with a 17month old around that doesn't directly involve that 17month old will understand. One time Everett got the front door opened and was walking down the street TOWARDS the recycle truck in the less then 5 minutes I took to go to the bathroom. Thank goodness his 2 year old big sister told on him! And thank goodness for highly placed door latches.

Travis & Jeri Tidmore said...

Bed rest?!? HA! Good luck with that. I can't even get rest with my yucky cold with an incredibly mobile 9 month old.

Jeri

jennifer said...

How are you doing? Hanging in there?