being overtired is cruel. the only cure for lack of sleep is...sleep. but when you're too far gone, sleep is just about the one thing you can't grasp.
in this house, overtired manifests itself in different ways.
the baby:
*gets a wide-eyed wild look
*waves and flaps her hands and arms excitedly during a feeding
*giggles, shrieks, babbles incoherently (well, more incoherently than usual)
*finally dissolves into tears upon sobs upon shrieks of a different nature
*can finally be coaxed into sitting quietly in the chair and staring at your face for a while, as her limbs start to settle. then, within a matter of minutes, she's snoring.
the child:
*starts running around the house like a child on a sugar high (but believe me, if we think she's tired, there's not one recent trace of sugar in her system)
*starts falling apart at the simplest of comments, questions or commands ("do you want milk or juice?" "juice!" "ok, here's your juice" "no. NO. NOOOOOOOOOOO!" hmmmm.)
*will become the most stubborn human ever
*will stall about picking out a story before naptime, but will scream incessently if you choose a story for her
*will finally comply to lay down and close her eyes and then is usually out like a light...but will then be awake sometime from 2 minutes to and hour later, either crying and asking for something you can't understand or talking to herself and her friends in her crib
(side note: if any of this happens and is not remedied by earlier sleep-times later, the battle continues and the cycle repeats itself viciously)
when i was little and would get overtired, i'd just cry. maybe there was more of a lead up to it that i wasn't aware of, all i remember is that i'd cry. and cry and cry and cry. about nothing and with no quick off switch. the day after avery was born i spent a good number of hours just crying. a mix of exhaustion, horrendous delivery, pain and hormones. but probably mostly exhaustion. so i totally understand these poor little bodies getting tired and not being able to deal or settle. as hard as it is somedays to stay at home all day to make sure they each get the rest they need, it sure does make for happier kids.
and adults.
*so i wrote this post yesterday...after avery and nola both woke up well before 6am. it seems more days than not this week have involved early wake-ups, naps cut short by dirty diapers, attempts to put nola down for a 3rd nap that she doesn't usually take, bedtimes that started too late and take too long (even though we tried to get them down early and quick), and overnight wakings...which leads to more early wake-ups, etc. it's 8:44pm right now and we can still hear avery talking upstairs, though we put her down at 6:30 she might have fallen asleep for a little bit, hard to say). i'm anticipating hearing more from avery overnight (not so much talking as crying) and (too) early in the morning. it just won't stop!!
happy (almost) friday, everyone. :)
ps, i'll be REALLY surprised if nola doesn't pop her first tooth in the next few days...we can see the tooth just below the gum. a whole month and a half earlier than avery's first tooth! i told zane i'd be sad to see the last of pure baby gummy mouth around here...
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