Full Circle

One of my family's favorite childhood stories to share involves my falling asleep on a box of cream filled donuts. As the story goes, I was young (perhaps three) when we all piled into the station wagon for a special night at the drive-in movie theater. Somewhere in the middle of the movie I fell soundly asleep, with the goo filled donuts as my pillow. My Mom found me at the conclusion of the movie with sugary, fat-filled cream caked through my hair, in my ears and all over my face. 

Fast forward nearly forty years, and this morning it felt like history was repeating itself. I turned on the light in Timmy's room and immediately knew that something was amiss. My smiling little Hamlet looked like a grubby ragamuffin. His hair was caked (literally) with cupcake icing and crumbs. It wasn't until I peeled the cupcake wrapper off his neck that I realized what he had done.

Timmy has a propensity for hiding food. I find remnants of cookies, french fries, chicken nuggets and fruit hidden in his toys, behind the curtains and under his crib. If he finds something particularly enjoyable, he will hide the last bite.

Robby shared his cupcakes with him last night, and apparently Timmy decided to stash his to eat later. Sometime after I found and removed the Little Debbie snack cakes from under his pillow to when I put him to bed for the night, he managed to stash his treats in his crib. He snacked and rolled over them all night.  He was a sticky, cakey mess when I found him this morning!  Today, my Mom's wish of my having a child just like me became a reality.

Wild Weather

Last week Robby was running around the yard wearing only a light jacket. Today his school is operating on a delayed opening due to the severe cold. I have a feeling that this winter is going to go from weird to absolutely crazy. While Robby seems delighted with the turn in temperatures, my body has had a completely different response.

My leg has definitely felt the wrath of Mother Nature. Last night my limb felt as if it were constantly being shocked, causing it to kick and shake erratically. This tends to happen whenever wild fluctuations in the weather occur, although knowing that it is going to happen doesn't make it any easier.  Compression, massage, and warmth  is all I can really do on those jitterbug leg nights. After all of my comfort remedies were exhausted, I consigned myself to a long and uncomfortable night. 

As if the electric shocks weren't uncomfortable enough to endure, this morning I was further abused when I had to don my ice cold liner. Trust me, nothing wakes me up more quickly than having to roll an icy cold liner onto my leg. Normally I grab the liner and warm it up with me under the covers before putting it on, but Timmy's demands to be released from his crib were growing, and I didn't want to risk waking everybody else in the house. (Donning an ice cold liner so that the  family can sleep is the very definition of maternal love!)

Today will be spent huddling by the fire, trying to stay warm. It's too cold for Timmy to play outside, so I might take him and Robby to the bounce house after school. If I don't provide them with an outlet for their energy, I know that I will feel the brunt of it tonight at bedtime.  Hopefully my leg has adjusted to the change in temperatures, and I won't be shocked all night again.

Trampolining!

After some mild pleading from Robby and his friends, I finally broke down and agreed to take them to the trampoline park on Friday night. I figured it would be an easy way for me to make the kiddos happy while enjoying the bonus of wearing them out. At this point, I will do just about anything to ensure that Timmy sleeps through the night!

I was hesitant about hopping on the trampolines myself, but Timmy's eagerness to join his big brother outweighed my concerns. After seeing Robby and his friends bouncing and laughing, all contentment with the pint sized toddler jumpers evaporated. I strapped on his safety helmet (required for jumpers under the age of five) and accompanied him onto the massive trampolines.

I have become quite adept at jumping on inflatables, and was hoping that a trampolining would be a natural progression. I expected it to be springier, but worried that the buoyancy might tweak my stump or knee. Despite my concerns, the jumping looked fun and I wanted to give it a try. Worst case scenario, I was prepared to pay Robby and his friend to entertain Timmy.

Little Hamlet started jumping as soon as he laid eyes on his brother. It was adorable,  especially considering that he was still standing on the platform and not the trampolines. He cautiously stepped onto the squishy mass, took one small hop and proceeded to break down into giggles.

Timmy and I  ran, jumped and laughed for two hours. We played dodge ball against Robby and his friend (I won) and had a bunny hop race across the trampolines (Robby won). I was surprised by the lack of pain and discomfort I felt while jumping. Other than my own worries and self-imposed precautions, my prosthetic was irrelevant on the trampolines. 

I have a feeling that the trampoline park will be added to the family fun rotation from now on!

Experiment Fail

My great toddler sleep hypothesis failed miserably. Yesterday I took great efforts to try to recreate all of the conditions that I thought led to his sleeping through the night. We went bouncing, we played outside and I gave him ibuprofen for his molars before bedtime. Lying his sweet little head down on his crib mattress, I was sure that success was within reach.

Three hours later he began screaming like an irate chimpanzee. He didn't want a bottle, nor was he particularly happy being snuggled and rocked. He was just angry and seemed oddly content to scream and pound every surface he touched.  He stayed awake for about 40 minutes only to wake up 3 hours later.

By 3 AM I was exhausted . Half asleep, I began to repeat the miserable cycle. I instinctively threw off the covers, mumbled something unbecoming a lady and went to go soothe my little monster.

BAM! I had forgotten one important step in my routine. I failed to put on my leg. Talk about a horrible way to start my Friday.

I'm limping into the weekend, so I figure it can only get better from here!

Hitting the Lottery (toddler style)

I am waking up after experiencing what feels like a miracle. No, we didn't win the Powerball. Timmy (and by default allowing me) slept soundly through the night. I can't remember the last time I had a solid night's sleep at home. I feel like I could run a marathon. (Okay, maybe not a marathon. But I definitely feel able to run after my toddler and in many ways that is the same thing.)

I am hoping that I stumbled upon the magic bullet for Timmy's sleep issues. I think that his restful slumber last night was a combination of heavy exercise (thanks to a late afternoon visit to the bounce house) and ibuprofen for his molars. Today we are going to repeat the schedule and see if we have the same results.

Both boys would be delighted if I made a visit to the Bounce House part of our daily schedule. Since the weather has turned cold and they have transitioned to indoor recess, Robby seems to have an abundance of energy when I pick him up from school. Allowing him to move and play after working so hard in school is probably good for him. The brothers excitedly ran into an inflatable structure and happily play (together) until they were both sweaty and panting.

If I were to be completely honest, I discovered that I have an affinity for bouncing as well.  There is something liberating about just bouncing, sliding, laughing and playing with both of my kids. As an added bonus, I've discovered that bouncing burns an obscene number of calories!

A helpful tip to anybody with a leg prosthesis who is going to enter a bounce house: do not put a sock over the foot shell because you will have a much harder time gaining traction to climb the slides.

Teething Terror

Timmy has been teething, which has turned my sweet little cherub into a demonic alien at night. Over the past few days he hasn't slept beyond two hours at a time, awaking angry and without a specific purpose. I've tried everything to soothe and calm him, only to be answered by the wrath of a high pitched scream breaking through the quiet night. 

I keep reminding myself that this stage won't last forever. Rocking him at 2 AM, I kept reminding myself that soon this time will be a memory. I had almost convinced myself that I was happy for the cuddle time when I tip toed into his room to tuck him back into bed. As soon as I placed him down his angry eyes opened and he began to shriek, spoiling the sweet Momom moment. 

Lately I have been feeling the brunt of a profound reality. I am in my 40's, and mothering a toddler at this age is considerably different then when I was in my 30's. While I still don't feel middle aged emotionally, my body constantly reminds me of the cruel forces of biology. I'm simply not able to bounce back from sleepless nights like I did a decade ago.

No Sick Days for Momom

I have fought admitting it for as long as I can, but I'm coming to accept the inevitable reality. I'm not feeling well today. I'm not sick enough to stay in bed (not that Timmy would allow it even if it were necessary) but I'm feeling punky enough to feel miserable.

I'm contemplating going to the doctor, but the thought of schlepping Timmy through the appointment only intensifies my headache. He is at a stage where we avoid taking him into public at all costs. I never know when he will throw himself on the floor and wail all of his limbs in a full blown tantrum. He morphs from my cute little Hamlet into Timmy the Terrible faster than Clark Kent twirls into Superman.

I wish I could take a nap, but Timmy's erratic schedule and my work obligations aren't going to allow that luxury.  Hopefully a few more cups of coffee (and some strong decongestants) will help me get through the day. I think it is going to be a long day!