There is a Monster in our House

Being a parent is hard.

One constant is you're always tired.

The amount of "me time" you are allotted is abysmal. Before Monster, I had a good system down. Boys go to bed at 8, and since I get up at 6:30 for work,  I'd aim to get to sleep by 11. I had 3 whole hours to do whatever my little heart desired. I could go on late night rambles with my good buddy for ice cream. I could take long baths. I could spend hours on Amazon.com searching for some things I didn't need. The possibilities were endless.

Enter Monster.

The beastly Monster wrapped in her puppy dog towel!

The boys still go to bed at 8, but now I have a new little creature to absorb my "me time." And last night, she was in rare form. Usually, I feed her around 8 or 9, rock/snuggle her for an hour or so, and then put her to bed. She sleeps until around 6, I feed her, put her back in her crib, then get ready for work.

Last night, however, she decided that she was going to party all night. She ate and laid down around 9. I went about my business, showering, getting clothes ready for work, etc. Just about the time I got cozy in bed with Order of the Phoenix, I heard a little monster grunting.

"Maybe if I sit here quietly and pretend I didn't hear her, she'll go back to sleep." Grunts continued, then advanced to fury. I grabbed the little thing from her crib before tears shed.

I fed her again, rocked and snuggled, and put her to bed. But that was not good enough! She started to get angry (and trust me, you won't like it when she's angry).

Because he wasn't going to bed immediately, my beautiful husband took baby duty. That lasted about an hour until I was awoken by the wild hollers of a banshee. (As a testament to the volume of her cries, a certain tenant complained about the noise today. Lucky Dacian! His bedroom is right above the nursery.)

Eeevil. Evil is her one and only name.

Anyway, when I got Monster at 1 this morning,  she had turned into the Squirminator. No position was comfortable. My arms could not satisfy her, and what's more,  her crib was made of acid. I defaulted to my old tried and true strategy of humming Christmas songs and smothering with Mommy hugs.

Finally! After great effort, she was asleep.

What seemed like 15 minutes later, I was up and at it again. Diaper change, bottle, rocking. I fell asleep dreaming about Quidditch. I awoke briefly, feeling Monster's bottle fall from my hand. I repositioned the Squirminator best I could and commenced rocking. "Five points from Gryffindor for falling asleep while feeding the baby," said Prof McGonagall as I drifted off to lala land once more.

A few grunts later, I was awake, singing again to Monster, who finally seemed to be giving up the good fight. I held her tiny hand and kissed her button nose. She didn't look so vicious afterall! What a precious little Monster!

By now, it was time to get ready for work. The bed, as wonderful as it looked, would have to wait until much later tonight.

And it actually didn't even matter.

Sleep and "me time" are pretty spectacular. But. One day, the Squirm is going to be a big girl. She won't need her Mommy to sing Christmas carols and snuggle her tight. True, this is a hard concept to grasp at 4 in the morning, but I have to remember! Time flies. I've got to savor all the moments. Someday, in the not-so-distant future, I'll be wishing I had these moments back. 

Love my little Monster!