Up With Max

I'm about to say something that I might grow to regret.  I enjoy being up in the middle of the night with Max.  I've enjoyed being up in the middle of the night with Stella and Colby, too. Of course, I LOVE my sleep and NEED my sleep and there's nothing greater than being able to sleep without being woken up several times a night.  But, right now, Max is on a schedule where he wakes up just once in the night and that I can handle. 

He gets up sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 and Kelsey usually has to nudge me out of bed.  I slip across the hall to Max's room where he is crying and waiting for me to rescue him.  Once I pick him up, he snuggles his face into my neck and I carry him down the hall to the living room where we will sit on the couch while he has milk.  This has been our routine for the past few months.  Before that, we would stay in his room and I would pop on my headphones and listen to music or the latest "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" or "This American Life" on my iPod.  (I've found the couch to way comfier than the little brown chair in his room now that Max has grown) 

So now, Max and I get some wonderful quiet time each night.  The house is quiet and still (though sometimes I can hear Colby breathing heavily or Stella snoring).  It seems as if we are the only ones in the world who are awake at that moment.  We always snuggle under a blanket and I'll usually put the tv on (which helps me stay awake and not wake up hours later sitting up on the couch!) and watch a repeat of that night's Conan or a Glee episode On Demand.  I truly love this time with Max because I know it won't last forever and that he won't always need me in this way. 

 I can vividly remember being up with Stella and Colby too.  With Stella I would sometimes take her into the living room to watch tv or I would stay up in her room and rock her in the rocking chair while her favorite lullaby cd played.  Listening to that cd now always brings me back to those moments with her.  Colby, who seemed to be up constantly until he was 20 months old, got in lots of snuggle time at night.  He and I would stay right in my bed with the tv on.  Reruns of Sex and the City always remind me of those sleepless nights with him. 

I know the day is coming soon when Max will no longer need to wake up and have milk.  And although part of me will be really happy to (finally!) have a full night's sleep, a large part of me will be sad to not have that special time in the middle of the night with him anymore.



A very sweet and sleepy Colby.



Sweet Stella Mae.



Stella and Colby in identical sleeping postions on a trip to NYC.