To Sleep, Perchance to Drea...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Abbie had a rough sleeping day today. She normally naps great, and falls asleep easier than Adam waiting in line for Weird Al tickets. I suppose these days will happen, though, especially with sinuses still full of snot and a tooth still determined to cause as much anguish as possible before rupturing the gum line. That’s unfortunate since I use her naps to do important work, like blog or take my own nap.

It started early this morning when she woke up about an hour early from her overnight sleep. “Not good,” I thought, “but at least she’ll take a nice nap later in the morning.” Ha! I’m sure I’ll look back on that thought and laugh some years from now, just like I’m sure I’ll be able to laugh eventually at my 2003 thought “there’s no way the Cubs can blow a 3-1 series lead.”

Abbie did not take a nice nap later in the morning. I’m not sure she even took a morning nap. She was silent for a short while, but she may have just been quietly plotting an escape with her crib mate, the hanging Pooh Bear. After a brief respite, she began screaming again, possibly frustrated by Pooh’s silence. So I pulled her out of the crib far earlier than usual, and started counting the seconds (13916) until I could put her down for the afternoon nap while praying it went better than the first.

The afternoon nap started well as she fell asleep with minimal fussing. I finally had a chance to catch up on some important work (post-NFL draft analysis on espn.com), then started supper hoping I could throw something in the oven before she woke up. No luck, as she again woke up earlier than usual, although to be fair it was only by ten minutes and I was rattling the house by attempting to pound a chicken breast flat at the time. I decided I needed to finish making supper, while Abbie, with a house full of toys to play with, decided that hanging on my leg and screaming would be the most constructive use of her time.

Fortunately, the day’s sleep deprivation didn’t affect Abbie too much, and she was no crankier for the night than she had been the last few days. Or, to put it another way, unfortunately Abbie was just as cranky for the rest of the night as she had been the past few days, but it could have been worse. Either way, we survived the evening and Abbie went to bed without much protestation. She is now sleeping quietly, as you may have been able to tell by the fact that I now have time to do important work, like blog.