Smell My Finger

Bryce held up her finger.

"Smell my finger," she said to the Mama.

"No, I'm not going to smell your finger."

Bryce sniffed her own finger and shivered, a comical sour frown in full bloom. 

I laughed. "What's wrong with your finger, honey?" 

"Stinky," Bryce answered, and then immediately went back to playing the iPad Dora Explorer game.

I don't want to know, I thought. I shook my head and yawned. Both the Mama and I were tired and "schloggy" -- schloggy meaning slow-motion foggy heads from being woken up at 11:00 p.m. by Bryce -- and not even because of the pre-New Year's fireworks already popping outside like gunshots.

Maybe that's what woke her up. But it's usually due to the fact that she didn't pee before night-night or she had a bad dream. Whatever the case, this has been a recurring waking "bad dream" for us for months now.

Bryce wakes up, seemingly every other night, comes in our room and then sits and/or squats at the foot of our bed and sighs and cries until we wake up. Sometimes I put her back to bed, but usually it's the Mama who has to get her settled again, which can range from 15 minutes to over an hour depending on Bryce's disposition. 

I can usually go right back to sleep, although it really breaks the normal sleep cycle for both of us, and it's really disruptive for the Mama, bringing the schloggies on full force. Combine that with the fact that both girls wake up really early between 5:30-6:30 a.m. (after 6:00 is rarer).

Bryce's wakefulness has been a pattern for months now. With the exception of last night, this week we were lucky because we had a streak of three nights in a row without interruption, with both girls sleeping sounding until morning. 

We've been told that it's normal neurological toddler development, although Beatrice wasn't nearly as wakeful and is a really good sleeper now. This latest cycle is haunting because Bryce was a nighttime nightmare from about 12 to 18 months old.

It really takes it's toll because we're more wakeful now feeling like she's right there crying and whining.

In our heads. Ack.

This too shall pass, but here we are again, a disruptive ghost of no-sleep past...sigh. We do love our B-hive no matter what.

(As we nod off to the schloggies...)

Here, smell Bryce's finger. Wait. Don't. 

Happy New Year!