Midnight Cuddles!

I was blessed with a baby that sleeps!  At exactly 8 weeks, Drew slept through the night for the first time, and after that first night, it was like a switch flipped and he has slept through the night ever since.  I can count on one hand how many times I've had to get up with him in the middle of the night for more than just a second to give him his paci back or change his position.  I'm very lucky, I know!

Before Drew came along, everyone I talked to warned me about the many sleepless nights I was sure to have.  I think it's very common for children to not sleep very well, and it can last for a long time.  In anticipation of this, we bought a rocking chair to put in Drew's nursery and I envisioned spending many nights rocking a sleepless child in it.  Needless to say, the rocking chair didn't get much use and I was blessed enough to not experience much of the sleeplessness and exhaustion that many moms face.

But for some reason, last night was a whole different story.  We fed Drew and put him to bed at his usual time, a little after seven.  He cried and cried when we left the room, so I decided he wasn't quite ready for bed yet and let him hang out with me in the living room for awhile.  About 8:30, I finally put him to bed and he fell asleep quickly.

Then, at 1:30 this morning, he woke up.  I went to his room to give him his paci and readjust his sleeping position, like I usually do, but as soon as I left, he began to cry again.  I went back into his room, and he climbed up his crib and held his hands out for me.  Now if you're a parent, you know this melts your heart and there's no way you can refuse those little arms.  So I did what I haven't done since Drew was just a few weeks old, and that is rock him in the rocking chair.  I can't tell you how sweet and wonderful it felt to hold my almost one year old and rock him to sleep on my chest.  It probably only lasted about 10 minutes before he was sound asleep on me and I transferred him back to his crib, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't contemplate laying back and sleeping like that with him for the rest of the night.  It felt so nice to have him lay on me and want me to be there with him.  It made me miss the days when he did want to sleep on me and have me hold him all night.  He's such a big boy now, and times like last night remind me of our early days together and of when he was just a tiny newborn.  It was so sweet and precious.  Being a mom truly is the best job out there.  Experiencing a love like that is such a blessing!