the one when I'm up all night

For those of you new mommies, you know that the question you dread is, "are they sleeping through the night?" For those mommies whose kiddos slept through the night at 8 weeks, they wear it around like a badge of honor. For those of us whose kiddos are still waking up at 13 weeks, it's the mark of the beast.

Last night I was up all night, and I want to tell you why I love it.

9:30pm: I feed Lily around 10:30 each night. Usually I don't go to sleep until after she eats but last night I was exhausted so I fell asleep with my husband, which is rare, around 9:30

10:20pm: Alarm goes off. Somehow my husband knows I don't want to get up [maybe it was all the groaning and fussing?] and he rolls over to whisper sweet encouragement in my ear. I love my man. I go to feed Lily. I love pulling her up from the crib when she's in a deep sleep. I love how she stretches and smacks on her little hands without ever waking up. She's a cutie.

10:45pm: Luckily my little Lily is a champion eater, so I'm back in the bed.

11:15pm: Chloe Belle starts crying. I remember that she's cutting teeth bad and I forgot to give her motrin before bed. I get up, get the motrin from the kitchen, and go into her room. I pull her up from the crib, give her the motrin, and sit down on the edge of the bed [cb's room doubles as the guest bedroom]. She snuggles up to me, wraps her little arms around my neck, and lays her head in the crook of my neck, falling asleep. I hold her for a few moments, praying I'll always remember what that feels like.

3:00am: Chloe Belle is crying again. This time sweet husband goes in to comfort her. He tells me later that he laid down on the bed with her and could have stayed there all night. I love how he loves her.

5:15am: Lily wakes up. She's so close to sleeping through the night! One of my favorite things about feeding her in the middle of the night is how when she's done she rolls back, stretches her arms and legs reeeeaaaal far, belly bulging, and then curls up in a little ball against me. Chloe Belle did it exactly the same way. Even if its 3 am I love to just sit there for a few minutes, holding my sleeping sweet baby, and adore her precious little life.

5:45am: back in bed. Chloe Belle is crying again. I hold hands with my husband and listen to him say how sad he is that she's in pain. He closes his eyes and I think about how much I love him. Then I close my eyes and think about how much I love my girls.

6:10am: Time to get up and start a new day. Today I go back to work/church for the first time since Lily arrived. I love my job/church.

So you see, waking up in the middle of the night isn't so bad after all.