Once a week I have to go in to work early. And one week a month, it's twice that I have to go in early. Is it a pain, kind of. It means I have to get up extra early and miss my morning snuggle time with Alex. But I really love my new job, and this is the only drawback so far.
I have made a habit out of warning Alex that I won't be there in the morning. Mainly because Alex would get really mad and be difficult for Craig in the morning after finding out I wasn't there.
At first, this seemed to work okay. But lately, he's been waking up in the middle of the night when I have to go in early. Sunday-Monday he woke up 3 times... 3:00, 3:30, and 4:30 AM. The first time I rolled over from a dead sleep and saw a back-lit 3 year old hovering by my bedside. As soon as I opened my eyes, I heard "Hi Mommy." Scared the bejeezus out of me.
Craig dealt with him the first two times (God bless him! Seriously...) but the third time I went in there and told Alex this was enough. I said, "I love you, but you're a big boy. Daddy takes good care of you in the morning. There's nothing to cry about. I'll pick you up after school like always." He sniffed a really pathetic, "Okay." I rubbed his back for a minute then stumbled back to bed for a precious additional 30 minutes of sleep.
So I think there's a parenting lesson in this... don't underestimate the element of surprise!
3 comments:
Oh dear. I symapathise, but it's also funny :-)
One of my boys used to wake up around 3am, pad into my bedroom and stand silently by my bed till I opened an eye. Usually startled the bejeebies out of me.
He'd then announce that he really needed breakfast...
At 3am !!!
I get a backlit 5-year-old in my room sometimes, too. But the worst part for me is the HUGE adrenaline rush I get after being scared out of such a dead sleep that I can't go back to sleep until 18 minutes before my alarm goes off.
Totally sympathizing with you.
Expect the unexpected, as they always say! (And who are they to say anyway? lol)
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