It鈥檚 usually around 3 a.m. when the party kicks off in our household. While I am not one to shy away from a shindig 鈥� after all, I love a good excuse to get dolled up, kick up my heels and hire a sitter 鈥� this is one f锚te I鈥檇 rather forget.
And so it begins, pretty much on cue 鈥� every. single. night. 鈥� with a game of chicken.
鈥淢omma, mommy, mommeeeeee . . . daddy?鈥� wails Zoe, our youngest, as she bounces up and down in her crib, demanding to be scooped up by whoever gives in first. For the record, it鈥檚 usually dad.
鈥淎gain, seriously?鈥� My disgruntled husband, Jason, will often ask as I pretend to be fast asleep, oblivious to the chaos that鈥檚 about turn our short-lived siesta into a midnight fiesta.
In my defense, I keep hoping, or more like dreaming, that our little party animal will eventually figure out how this whole 鈥榮leep thing鈥� works and just go back to sleep on her own. So far, no dice.
And, this isn鈥檛 our first late-night rodeo. With our three-and-a-half-year-old, Molly, we tried every parenting trick and technique in the book in an attempt to catch some much-needed Z鈥檚.
From the Ferber method to Febreeze theory 鈥� OK, I made up that last one 鈥� we鈥檝e had no luck getting her to sleep through an entire night in her own room.
I鈥檓 sure many would say that we鈥檝e made our bed by having allowed them to sleep with us early on and that we must to lie in our proverbial mess.
Except, now it鈥檚 getting pretty crowded with two lovable, but unwanted wee guests fighting for space in between the sheets.
Let me tell you, it鈥檚 really hard to drift into a blissful sleep with a pair of little feet wedged under your back.
Another late night game we鈥檝e grown accustomed to is musical beds.
While our clan usually ends up in the same bed, we鈥檝e found that our only shot at avoiding sleep deprivation is to divide and conquer. I usually end up with Zoe, while Jason crashes on Molly鈥檚 bedroom floor.
I can probably count on both hands how many times Jason and I have slept together for a whole night in the past two months. Really, it鈥檚 a miracle that Molly has a younger sister . . . or so everyone likes to tell us.
Now, before I get a flood of letters about how I should let my girls 鈥榗ry it out,鈥� we鈥檝e been there, and it hasn鈥檛 been pretty nor effective.
While it鈥檚 tough on us as parents to listen to our little ones cry for hours on end, I鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 even harder for our neighbours 鈥� we live in a townhouse with paper-thin walls 鈥� to put up with it. Sorry guys.
So what do we do?
I honestly have no clue.
Yes, we have our good nights where we are able to sneak them back into their beds and reclaim our space, so it鈥檚 not all doom and gloom.
Just this morning, I was awakened by Zoe, except she wasn鈥檛 in her usual spot 鈥� lying across my pillow 鈥� she was in her crib.
As I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the alarm clock, which read 10 a.m. I couldn鈥檛 believe my orbs, or how amazing it felt to have had a full night鈥檚 rest.
Victory.
Well, at least for one night, anyhow.
But right now, I鈥檒l take what I can get.
There鈥檚 always coffee, right?
Kristyl Clark is a stay-at-home-mom who writes monthly for the 黑马磁力 Times and is a co-founder of the women鈥檚 lifestyle blog, Sex and the Suburb (www.sexandthesuburb.com).
