Despite pretty much zero sleep this weekend, I would still call it a pretty nice couple of days off as a family. We spent Saturday running the roads around our state capital, starting with a couple of hours at the children's museum. It was absolutely packed, and I worried that the crowd might intimidate Natalie a little bit. She settled in near all the musical intruments without any fuss, though, happy to bang away on the pianos and bongos while other kids raced around her. Any time I see her showing interest in music, my heart gets all melty.
After sufficiently wearing the kid out all day, we were prepared to settle in for an easy night's sleep. Boy, were we in for it. Natalie struggled to fall asleep almost from minute one, alternating between rolling around fitfully in her crib to all-out screaming bloody murder. We finally got her settled in for the night a bit before midnight, only to be awakened again at 1am by more blood-curdling screams. No fever, no complaints of pain, no real interaction of any kind. Just inconsolable screaming. After just having read Deanna's post about night terrors, I could feel myself starting to completely freak out about the possibility that my kid was going to continue with these random nightly screamfests.
All told, we squeezed in a few hours of sleep on Saturday night, only to be woken up by a completely happy and content toddler on Sunday morning. We had a pretty great day, actually. Mike did our taxes, I got a couple hours in at the office, we went out for quesadillas and margaritas. We definitely began to put aside our fears from the night before, and prepared for a more normal night's sleep.
All told, we squeezed in a few hours of sleep on Saturday night, only to be woken up by a completely happy and content toddler on Sunday morning. We had a pretty great day, actually. Mike did our taxes, I got a couple hours in at the office, we went out for quesadillas and margaritas. We definitely began to put aside our fears from the night before, and prepared for a more normal night's sleep.
Sunday night started off much better, but around 3am we were back to consoling a miserable kid. In those early morning hours, there never seems to be even a hint of hope that it can end. I could feel the remnants of my finally-almost-gone cold clawing its way up the back of my throat, settling into a headache throughout my stuffy head. I felt helpless to soothe Natalie's cries, frustrated that another night's sleep was slipping away.
As is almost always the case in the mornings after nights like these, all of my irrational nighttime thoughts are hit head-on by the realization that my kid is, in fact, sick. Right around 4:30 this morning I started to notice the fluid oozing out of Natalie's ears, starting off clear and getting progressively thicker and darker. Her hair matted to the sides of ear lobes, and she started tugging at the sides of her head, complaining that her "ears hurt, Mommy." The poor kid. Suffering through another double ear infection while she continued to gallop through her weekend playtime, sitting happily through our time at restaurants, politely sharing toys with other kids, not making a peep about the throbbing in her ears.
It's naptime now, and Natalie's had her first course of antibiotic ear drops so we're hoping for a happier afternoon and more restful night.
As is almost always the case in the mornings after nights like these, all of my irrational nighttime thoughts are hit head-on by the realization that my kid is, in fact, sick. Right around 4:30 this morning I started to notice the fluid oozing out of Natalie's ears, starting off clear and getting progressively thicker and darker. Her hair matted to the sides of ear lobes, and she started tugging at the sides of her head, complaining that her "ears hurt, Mommy." The poor kid. Suffering through another double ear infection while she continued to gallop through her weekend playtime, sitting happily through our time at restaurants, politely sharing toys with other kids, not making a peep about the throbbing in her ears.
It's naptime now, and Natalie's had her first course of antibiotic ear drops so we're hoping for a happier afternoon and more restful night.
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