"N" is for never-freaking-again

Blech. We are a tired, tired little family. Goran came home early this week, and we decided to go to dinner with two friends last night, rather than just being at home.

I had reservations. Not that kind that gets you a table, mind you, but the kind where you know in the back of your mind that you are doing something really, really stupid, but you go along with it. Why? Because who wants to be the boring mama who refuses to go out because her kid has a bedtime? Who wants to make everyone else stay home? So, out we went, with Alexander in his carseat.

See, he used to sleep really well in it. Until he sort of discovered sleeping in the crib, and we started allowing him to be on his belly. Now, nothing will do other than the crib or occasionally, me. Either way, he has to be face down and on something unmoving. So the bassinet of the wagon/carriage will do, if it's parked, but the carseat is not good. If we're going somewhere in walking distance, where I can park the wagon in a quiet location (like the bedroom of a friend), then he's quite portable. But restaurants and places a car ride is required for? Not such a good idea. I KNEW this. Why oh why didn't I stand my ground?

He won't even take long sling naps anymore. I can lull him to sleep, but he won't stay asleep more than 30 min.

Anyway, back to bedtime. He goes down between 7.30 and 8.30, like clockwork. He picked the times, not me. I just started putting him in the crib for naps, or when he started yawning, and he started sleeping for 4-5 hours at that time of day. It seems that if we respect his little internal clock, he sleeps reasonably well (knock on lots of wood things). We get the 4 hour stretch in the evening, and then he's up every 2.5 or 3 hours. A typical night is down at 8, up at quarter till one, nurse, down at 1, up at 3.30, nurse, down by quarter till 4 and then up for the morning at 6.30 or 7. Sometimes I can coax an extra hour out of him in the morning if I bring him in bed with me and keep him there. All in all, it isn't so awful and I've gotten used to it.

But last night? He fell asleep in the car seat, on the floor of the restaurant just before 8 and woke up as soon as we moved it to the car (9ish). We put him to bed in his crib at 9.30 or a bit after, after nursing and changing into pjs, but he damage was already done. He slept till 12, and was very fussy and not nice to mom's nipples during his feeding, woke up again just before 2 and was up every single hour after that, screaming.

He wasn't hungry, because he'd latch, suck, swallow, and then chew and writhe like he was trying to rip my nipples off. Comfort sucking I guess? Goran finally got up at 4 or 5 to try and walk him to sleep, but Alexander was having none of it. Ended up with him in our bed, and me nursing him to sleep between us, where we finally got an additional 1.5 hours to sleep. He was wide awake by 7, so that was the end of that.

What I'm thinking, is he was over-stimulated and over-tired, and thus couldn't fall asleep deeply or properly. That's what my sleep book says, at least. So I'm going to be very strict on naps today. He went back down at 8.15am, after having been up for a feed, a bath and a clothing change (and some chatting with dad) and is still asleep now, at quarter to ten.

We'll go to baby school when he wakes (which I expect to happen any time now), and I want to have him home and in bed for another nap by 2, and his ass is going to bed at 7.30 tonight. If I see so much as a yawn at any point during the day? To the crib with him!

As for going out to dinner? Never-freaking-again! At least not till he's a teenager. ;) At least now his father has seen what happens, so I doubt he'll ask me to haul A along to a dinner any time soon, and I don't have to worry about being the kill-joy, boring mama.