Al's Nighttime Shenanigans

I am really pretty tired.  In no small part due to Mr. Al deciding to wake up at 3:30 am last night announcing his desire to be picked up and rocked back to sleep (and held that way, ideally forever, thankyouverymuch).  

Michael and I looked at each other in consternation.  We crept out of bed and stood outside the door.  I whispered urgently, "wait, don't go in!"  

Al cried louder.  

I went to check the monitor and said, "maybe you should go in!  He's standing up in his crib clinging desolately to the bars."  

Al cried louder. 

Michael said, "I'm going in!" 

I tried to go back to sleep.  All was quiet.  

At 4 a.m. on the dot, Al sobbed at the top of his lungs while Michael returned to bed in a defeated retreat.  He needed to sleep also.

Al's cries got louder. Al added wails of "Daddy! Daddy!" to devastating effect.  

Michael and I sighed in mutual horror.  I went to check the monitor twice.  Al renewed his efforts to wake up the entire house.

I said, "I'm going in!"

Michael said, "Don't go in! You have work!  This is a horrible idea!  He needs to cry it out! We can't afford to do this with twins!" and probably many other iterations to this effect. 

I vacillated, tossed and turned, tried to hold out for another 2 minutes and finally picked myself up and said grimly, "I can't leave him like this! I have to go in!"  I wasn't going to  be able to sleep anyway and the last thing I wanted was for all three kids to be awake and screaming.  Then we would REALLY have a problem on our hands. 

On the positive side, human experiences are really all about expectations.  When I slithered into the boys' room at 4:15 am, I was fully mentally prepared, knowing that I was up for the day and not going to get back to bed.  Al was going to want me to hold him forever, and it would require a miracle for Teo to not be awake after that caterwauling.  And knowing that before I went in made a lot of difference.

Because it turned out to be exactly how I imagined it. 

I was completely unsuccessful in getting Al to lie down in his crib - I started humming in the hopes that would calm him.  Nope.  It just had the effect of waking up Teo (if he wasn't awake already).  

Turns out, Teo was wide awake. He was wide awake but I barely knew it.  In fact he freaked me out in the dark because he was just sitting up in his bed so calmly, so quietly, waiting for me to deal with his loud and cantankerous brother.

It's like the boys can smell me, or have super sonar hearing - they both started crying, wanting to be held.  It is a pretty challenging feeling, in the wee hours of night, to face your utter inability to attend to more than one child at a time, because you simply do not have more than two arms, or more than one lap.  

I pulled Al out of the crib (already seeing how this whole plan was sliding away from me), and held him close, and he immediately snuggled into the crook of my neck.  For all that it's 4:30 am, and I know I'm about to have a very long day... is there anything better, more heartrending, and more touching, than the instant, innocent, willing and freely given trust of a baby or child?  

I turned on the shushing machine which settles Teo.  I cross my fingers hoping he would fall asleep (he didn't).  I continue to hold Al, who had a nice snooze in my arms.  As soon as I tried to put him back in his crib, he wakes up (doh).  

Finally I plopped Al in his crib, and went to hold Teo, who had been waiting so patiently for so long.  A good half hour commencing from 4:45 my morning was probably spent holding Teo while stroking and patting Al's back simultaneously, trying to keep them both calm and not crying, and me from sweating.

Al was so tired he was leaning his head against his crib, yawning, while refusing to sit.  But refuse to sit or lie down he persisted.

The peace, while a precarious one, did not last long.  Just before I gave up and called it (no sleep for anyone anymore!) at 5:30 am, the cutest and most adorable thing happened.  

Teo was outside Al's crib and the two of them start pawing (gently, for a change) at each other.  

Teo skimmed his hand down Al's head/body, poking his arms through the crib slats to try to tickle Al, and started cackling like crazy.  Al giggled back and said something akin to "goochie goochie goo" or made similar tickling sounds. 

The two were playing with each other and trying to tickle one another!  And they were nearly spasmic with laughter, cackling away hysterically and very loudly in unison.  It was so. freaking. adorable.  Almost cute enough to make the whole experience worth it.  Almost.  But probably not quite.