Why I Wanted to Wake Up My Children at 2 a.m.

Batteries. Oh, man, did I need them last night.
If you are keeping up with my rantings and ravings on previous blog posts, you know that Spencer's nighttime sleep habits are nothing to brag about. He is usually up about 3 times a night. Sometimes I feed him to get him back to sleep, which I guess is pretty normal for a 6-month old. But sometimes, maybe too often, I use my little magic shell, and that is what led me to the predicament I was in last night.
Are y'all familiar with the Soothing Shell? This is a white noise machine. In case you didn't know, the only thing that works better to calm a fussy baby is a very loud blowdryer on high or a nice gas-pumping session with Josh. We used our shell with all 3 boys when they were babies to help them go to sleep. Somehow, the power cord got lost by the time it got to Spencer. So we have been using batteries.

Which is why, around 2 a.m., I was seriously considering waking up my 3 kids (well, 2 - one was already awake) and running to the store to get 4 AA batteries. I didn't, but at 4 a.m. I did take out all the batteries from all of our AA toys and frantically try to make that darn shell work.

Because Spencer wouldn't go to sleep without it. He was up at least 15 times (I honestly think more, but lost track), which is a total record even for him. I think I got an hour stretch from like midnight to 1, but other than that it was a sleepless night for me. I tried rocking him back to sleep, feeding him, letting him wake up and play, burping him, letting him sleep with me, letting him cry it out. NOTHING worked to get him to sleep for more than an hour. I really think he just wanted his white noise.

I thought about turning on the blowdryer and setting it near the crib, but even with my 2 a.m. brain that just didn't sound right.

And of course this happened on the last night of Josh's 4-day conference trip so I am totally on my own. And of course Matthew came hopping into my room at 5:30 a.m. ready for the day just as I had gotten Spencer back to sleep again for the last time.
I have just sort of wandered around in a sleepy fog today. All I remember about the day is that I bought the batteries, but did not get a nap because McKay did not have preschool, does not nap anymore, and decided today was the day to talk nonstop about bottlenose dolphins.

Well, I think it is about time for me to go enjoy some white noise myself.
Goooood Night!