So Jojo was up at 3am this morning.
He got up, wandered into our room and climbed into bed with us.
He has learned that he can come into our room at night any time he needs.
If he’s gonna be up in the middle of the night, I would rather have him in our room where I know where he is rather than up somewhere roaming the house.
When Jonah was 2 years old he rarely cried if he was hungry at night. He used to climb out of his crib, slide down the stairs, open the fridge, and just start eating string cheese through the wrapper.
As he got older, he would stay up but for different reasons. Sometimes, he just wasn’t tired. Sometimes he just WOULDN’T sleep.
Sometimes he would pitch an UNHOLY late-night meltdown. Thankfully he has not done that lately.
But he can’t just “be alone” at night. Daddy has to be there too.
It has become Jonah’s nighttime habit that any time he wakes up, he will climb into bed with us.
Or, more specifically, with “me.”
I have learned the hard way that Jonah will follow me wherever I go at night. Sometimes he will come into our room and kick me out of bed, so I will go and sleep on the couch.
Then he will find me downstairs in the middle of the night, and then climb up and kick me off the couch onto the floor.
But if I am in his room, he will stay in his bed, so long as I am there.
So, when he comes into our room, I will typically walk him back into his bedroom where he will climb back into his own bed.
Mama works in the intensive care unit so she needs her sleep and Jonah in our bed REALLY HINDERS THAT.
So I’ll just hang out in Jonah’s room until he falls back asleep, or until the sun rises, whichever comes first.
I’ve fallen asleep on the floor in Jonah’s room many times.
Jonah used to have a HUGE stuffed bear that I would use for a make-shift mattress.
But since “Big Bear” takes up so much space, and since Jonah has been doing so well lately at night, I recently got rid of “Big Bear.”
And so I have a tough time falling back asleep if I have to hang out with Jonah…
Which was the case last night.
I was in Jonah’s room on the floor from 3am until around 5am.
No Big Bear. No blankets. No pillows.
No sleep for Daddy.
My sister asked me why I don’t just keep a spare mattress and blankets or something in Jonah’s room for those late night/early mornings so I can get some rest.
I could certainly make up a “spare” sleeping area but I just don’t want to do it.
I think it’s because doing that in my mind would somehow be “conceding the sleep battle.”
Like it would be “admitting defeat.”
Lord knows we have fought that fight long enough.
So I’ll tough it out on the floor… in the freezing cold… with whatever I can find on the floor of Jonah’s room to keep me warm and comfy.
Because even if Jonah wanders into our bed and I have to do this again tonight, or I have to sleep on the floor again tomorrow night, or the night/morning after that… I’ll do whatever I have to do.
…but I am NOT ACTUALLY PLANNING on doing this ever again.
#Ausome