We’re Gonna Stay Up Late Tonight
Monday, December 31st, 2012From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Many years back, Joe and I were at the movies. This is before we had a child, obviously. People with children rarely go to the movies. (This is something they should put in the owner’s manual.) Anyway, when we were buying our tickets that evening, we witnessed a couple of young children getting set to see a children’s movie. I suppose they realized that they were off of their regular schedule because all of a sudden they started jumping up and down and screaming, “we’re gonna stay up late tonight!” over and over. It was really sweet. Since then the phrase has become an inside joke between us. Anytime we have exciting nighttime plans we invoke the special phrase.
Haley usually goes to bed between 7:30 and 8. Yet her sleep habits are always in flux. Lately it takes a long time to get her down and she’s been waking up through the night. The question we are always wondering is “why.” I don’t know what the reason is. Sometimes it seems like separation anxiety, other times it seems like teething is the culprit. Mostly, I think her sleep problems are developmental in nature. She’s at an age at which she’s maturing and learning new things at a very rapid place. That tends to screw things up at night. The wheels in the brain don’t stop.
Which brings me to staying up late tonight. Now the question is, do we let Haley stay up a little late and enjoy New Year’s Eve? Despite the reputation for very adult debauchery occurring on the last day of the year, I always spent New Year’s Eve with my parents and thought of it as a family holiday. Our family friends are throwing a party, and I thought it would be fine to bring Haley. After all, how much worse can her sleep get? Of course, over the weekend, Haley’s sleep improved! She slept as many as 9 hours straight. Best practices in child sleep dictate that most usual sleep problems are caused by overtiredness. One wayward night is not going to ruin everything—but we just got things back on track. Should we push our luck?
Survey says yes! Haley’s sleep problems have been frustrating and felt never-ending, but I know in the grand scheme of things, this is just a small moment of her childhood. It may be hard to believe it now, but soon I’ll miss the nights spent rocking her and singing to her. I can deal with whatever comes. It’s going to be a fun night with family and friends, and I want to enjoy it with my girl.
Have a great night! Stay up late tonight.