It has been a long, hard day.
The kids have been sleeping soundly for some time.
The house has been returned to more subdued level of chaos.
The toys have been kicked out of the walks, ready to be played with tomorrow. There is the hum of the dishwasher coming from the kitchen, drowning out Jeff's WoW voice chat.
Blogs have been visited and comments left.
My eyelids are heavy so it is time for bed.
Nightly routine and beautiful regiment of looking at myself in the mirror and sighing is complete. Teeth have been brushed and jammies are on.
I pull the covers back, turn off the light and lay my head down on the pillow when
Whoot Whoot Whoot!
The secret alarm goes off in the babies room.
I sit straight up and listen.
There is a soft muted cry.
Once.
Twice.
And then it stops.
Maybe this night it will not wake some one up.
Quiet has returned.
Good.
I sink back down, head gently laid on my pillow when
Whoot Whoot Whoot!
Again, I bolt straight up in bed and listen.
That damn alarm.
It must be triggered by my head hitting the pillow.
I hear the crying again but this time it is louder and more angry.
And then the call starts.
Moooooommeeeee! Whaaaaaw!
Moooooooommmeeee! Whaaaaaw!
Forget it.
I guess it can't go to sleep yet.
I get up out of bed and head upstairs to comfort the crying child.
I really need to find that damn secret alarm and remove it from their room. Either that or learn how to sleep sitting up without my head ever touching a pillow.
The house has been returned to more subdued level of chaos.
The toys have been kicked out of the walks, ready to be played with tomorrow. There is the hum of the dishwasher coming from the kitchen, drowning out Jeff's WoW voice chat.
Blogs have been visited and comments left.
My eyelids are heavy so it is time for bed.
Nightly routine and beautiful regiment of looking at myself in the mirror and sighing is complete. Teeth have been brushed and jammies are on.
I pull the covers back, turn off the light and lay my head down on the pillow when
Whoot Whoot Whoot!
The secret alarm goes off in the babies room.
I sit straight up and listen.
There is a soft muted cry.
Once.
Twice.
And then it stops.
Maybe this night it will not wake some one up.
Quiet has returned.
Good.
I sink back down, head gently laid on my pillow when
Whoot Whoot Whoot!
Again, I bolt straight up in bed and listen.
That damn alarm.
It must be triggered by my head hitting the pillow.
I hear the crying again but this time it is louder and more angry.
And then the call starts.
Moooooommeeeee! Whaaaaaw!
Moooooooommmeeee! Whaaaaaw!
Forget it.
I guess it can't go to sleep yet.
I get up out of bed and head upstairs to comfort the crying child.
I really need to find that damn secret alarm and remove it from their room. Either that or learn how to sleep sitting up without my head ever touching a pillow.
27 comments:
Happens every.dang.time! On the nights that I am wide awake they sleep great, but when I am exhausted and wanting to drool on my pillow they wake up for something or nothing at all!
It's uncanny. It's worse when my kids are little, and that's horrible - getting mad at a tiny newborn over this alarm thing. But I swear - every single time!
There are pressure sensors in my pillow. And it doesn't matter which pillow I use.
Oh Jen, you know I so feel for you.
For the past 7 years, I know that regardless of when my head hits the pillow--10:00 pm or 2:00 am--that the second I relax, one of my kids will pick that exact moment to wake...it's Murphy's Law. And some alarm, apparently.
And why is it ALWAYS on a night where you are so exhausted you could practically sleep standing up?
Murphy's Law.
I wanna find Murphy and beat the crap right outta him.
So, that's what it is! I was wondering how mine always knows...
I'm trying to teach Grayson to cry for Daddy!!
I'm telling you.. it's not an alarm that can be removed they are born with this internal device that tells them exactly when Mommy closes her eyes and is at the beginning of REM.
Mine always wake up in the middle of the night like at 3 am. It is really hard to be a mom at 3am.
how is it that they are able to time waking up at the exact point that you begin to drift off to sleep?!?!
You are tooooo funny... except when you want to go to sleep it is not so damn funny. Lol
Great post!
Over from SITS to say Hi.
I can't read the text against the background {it took me forever to find the comment button}
But... the pictures are ADORABLE!
It must happen to everyone. I have started turning the monitor off so I can't here the small whining noises. Our sons room is close enought to hear the real cries anyway. I don't think my wife approves but I have to sleep sometime.
It never fails...the nights that I'm am dog tired or sick, they never sleep. It's like they have a secret radar.
Thanks for coming by on my SITS day.
http://southernfriedmomma.com
SO TRUE! And so funny. Every night, at some point, my head triggers the alarm. So weird.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you! I thought that it was just me! How do those kids know?
UGH!! I KNOW!! That's every night at my house!! I wouldn't care if they would at least cry for daddy!
I feel for you. Thank goodness I can actually get uninterrupted sleep now. These days, it's not my kids that keep me up at night, but blogging and reading other blogs! Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Oh yes, Tyler has attached some sort of honing device to me too that notifies him when I have either one, entered the house long after he has been put to bed and is sound asleep or two, I crawl into bed anticipating a blissful state of rest and sleep. After the 1st "cry" I lay there still, as if playing "dead" in my own bed is going to help....and I pray, please let him go back to sleep..please let him go back to sleep...but he just somehow knows! They also check your schedule too! It is always the night before work, when I get home from working evenings, or when I have a gazillion things that must get done the next day!!! Great post! :-)
I know what you mean! That secret alarm is downright creepy!
When you figure out this one, my friend, you will have a true Mom Miracle on your hands.
...and you do know that I am referring to sleeping sitting up, and not removing the alarm. I am just not sure that is possible. :)
-Francesca
Oh girl, how well do I know this one. I don't think moms get a good night's sleep until our kids leave for college and even then we're worried about what they're doing.
I have that same alarm!! But mine is at the top of the stairs!
I would hire a professional to sweep the house and have the damn alarm removed!!! It is uncanny isn't it!!!???
Great post!
Perfect! That summed up a mother's life perfectly!! THey know us too well, don't they?
You don't know? See, when babies are born, doctors are mandated to put a chip in their heads which alerts them once we are in bed and wakes them up, requiring us to stagger through the following day like a walking zombie. Seriously. I'm sure Newsweek, or some other magazine, had a story on it just recently.
Augh! That drives me crazy too!!
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