A Long Day...

For the past few days, Barrett has decided that he doesn't want to sleep anymore.  Playing and giggling with Mommy is so much more fun than sleeping!!  So, instead of sleeping for about 14-16 hours each day, he has only been sleeping about 8-10 hours each day. Nothing about our routine or our day had changed; all he has wanted to do was play and talk and coo and grow!!  For a few days, this wasn't a problem for him because he was still happy and giggly.  (Mom got a little worn out, though...)

But today, his happiness came to a crashing, shuddering halt. Last night, he didn't go to bed until 11:30pm, and then he woke up after only 8 hours of sleep (this is not normal for him!!). He was happy for about two hours. Then, he was fussy, whiny, and tired (with only a few moments of happiness) for the rest of the day. It was obvious that he was tired - yawning constantly, circles under his heavy eyes, and a lot of behavior that just isn't normal for him. But, no matter what tricks I tried for him, he was refusing to sleep!! Nothing worked - not the swing, the crib, nursing, walking, bouncing...nothing.

Finally, after trying to get him to nap for several hours, I gave up.  I needed to take the cat to the vet, so I loaded everyone up in the car.  Barrett screamed and the cat cried for the ten minute drive to the vet, and it was so miserable!!  I couldn't wait to get to the vet and back.  So, of course, the vet office was closed for lunch when I got there. *sigh* With a screaming baby and a crying cat, I didn't know what to do.  I couldn't go home because I didn't want to go through this whole process all over again, so I just started driving.

And driving... and driving...

Never have I ever been so grateful for the long straight drive on highway 90 where you can drive for miles and miles at 70mph without traffic, lights, or any distractions in general. As soon as I got out on the highway, everybody calmed down.  For an hour, I drove up and down highway 90 (20 miles out of town and back, twice), relishing the fact that Barrett was finally taking a much-needed nap.

(You can almost see the baby in the mirror...) 

After an hour, he began to stir a little, so I went back to the vet to drop off the cat, and then we went to base to visit Daddy and have a change of scenery.  Barrett was the sweetest baby while we were there, cooing and laughing at all the guys who talked to him.

He started to get cranky, so we came back home, and he was back to his fussy self, obviously still tired.  We nursed for a while, and he napped for about two hours. I was woefully unproductive during this time, because all I wanted to do was snuggle with my sweet baby and help him sleep.  He woke up horribly cranky and out of sorts, so I quickly put his pjs on and nursed him again. He finally settled down in his crib at 6:30 this evening, and I can only pray that he gets the rest he needs tonight.  Growing is serious business!!

Today was a long day, but everyone is peacefully tucked into bed now (even Travis!), so I am finishing the chores and preparing for our road trip to Dallas tomorrow. We are all looking forward to seeing the family for Christmas!

Pray for a well-rested, happy little boy tomorrow.  It would sure do great things for my spirits :-)