It's like they know.....

The other day I was so grateful to have an opportunity to nap during the day that I thought it was important enough to blog. Unfortunately, Noah is the one who had the master plan and ended up keeping me up all hours of the night! It's like my kids do these things to me to teach me a lesson. Like they need to let me know on a consistent basis that although I like to think I'm in charge, in all actuality, they hold all the cards. Thus was my evening on the floor with Noah, pleading with him to go to bed.

I started the never-ending journey by rocking him. There were moments when he was climbing me like a tree and had a death grip around my neck. I think I actually did let go and he still clung to me like velcro. I held him for a good 45 minutes, singing every song I know (including a little Alicia Keys....that "No One" song is a catchy tune), and feeling the muscles in my back tighten as every minute went by. I could feel him fall asleep on me, starting to feel heavier and breathing deeper. Just when I thought I could put him down, the claws came out. I honestly don't know how some people use this method to put their kids to sleep every night! I am typically militant about bedtime, but I swear my kids and my sanity have benefited from the fact that they can fall asleep on their own. Anyway, I finally relinquish and put him down thinking I can just rub his back......

30 minutes later....still rubbing his back. His eyes are now wide open and I realized I have produced just enough stimuli to wake up the kid. He's finally calm and I decide to just stop rubbing his back and lie down next to the crib......Noah quickly squashes that idea and I rub his back for another 15 minutes.

20 minutes later, finally made it to the floor....much more of the same except I can now hear Sierra and Tim both snoring in the other room. Noah is tossing and turning, yet knows exactly where I am and continues to watch my every move. FINALLY, Noah starts to calm down and is actually still for a minute. I think this is my chance to get out.....I literally crawl, like a Marine in combat, out of Noah's room. Just when I start to pull the covers onto me in bed, he starts crying again!!! Tim forced me to let him cry it out for a while and I thank him dearly (not for helping, or getting up, or even asking if I needed anything) for making the right call because he fell back asleep moments later.

Needless to say, I would have rather skipped my nap!