Friday, February 8, 2008

A Sleepless Night... BUT There's Hope!

Last night was pretty awful. Brooke woke up at 11 (after going down at 7:45) and I went in her room to calm her down. She was SO congested that she could hardly breathe so I picked her up in hopes of suctioning her nose out. Without John there to hold her down, this was pretty tricky. I ended up holding her head between my legs and pushing her hands down with my elbows in order to get the job done. Of course one time of suctioning wasn't sufficient so I had to repeat this awful process AGAIN. Brooke absoutely hates having this done and she screams hysterically so this just woke her up even more than she already was. After she was all cleaned up and she could breathe more clearly, I tried to feed her. She was still having a hard time breathing through her nose but she managed to fall asleep. I didn't put her in her bed because I figured that we would both get the optimal night's sleep if she just stayed with me (seeing as how she's cutting 3 teeth AND congested). WRONG! She was up several times throughout the night, just wanting to be loved and comforted. She was overall VERY restless. To make matters worse, she was up at 7:15 this morning. I'm exhausted beyond belief right now!

I was feeling really discouraged over Brooke's sleep this morning. Honestly, it seems like every freaking time we make progress something else comes up to ruin it, like colds and teeth! I've been reading through Luke in the Bible and it's such a great reminder that God worked amazing miracles while He was on Earth (and He still does today). As I read through His ministries and reflected on how great He really is, I told God that if He can walk on water, feed the 5,000, heal the Leper, and SO much more, then surely, truly He can help my baby sleep. I think that sometimes I feel like Brooke's sleeping struggles are somehow too small for God. Though I know that nothing in my life is insignificant to Him, I tend to leave Him out of relatively small issues like this. Since I gave this over to Him, I feel very relieved. HE CARES ABOUT MY BABY'S SLEEPING PROBLEMS!! Brooke is ultimately HIS child anyways! So, I'm just praying that God will give me the wisdom, patience, and guidance to get through this sleepless time.

Ironically enough, I just went to put Brookie down for her nap and guess what... She went right down for me! She didn't fuss or whimper or fight with me. She closed her precious little eyes and she was out in a matter of seconds. GOOD GIRL! So far she's been sleeping for only a half an hour so I'm hoping for at least another good hour of relaxation for myself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! See, God is so good. Just when I thought I was going to lose my sanity He totally came through.

My aunt (my mom's sister) is in from California so we're going over to my parents house for a big dinner tonight. I'm excited for her to meet Brooke and John. She's never met my little family and I'm so proud of them so I love to show them off! My aunt is basically my mom's mother so it always means a lot to my mom when she gets to see her. Their mom died of brain cancer when my mom was 8 or 9 and then my grandpa was such an alcoholic that he didn't adequately provide for them. He ended up giving my mom and her sisters up to an awful foster mother who never fed, clothed them properly. So, long story short my aunt, being the oldest sister, raised her sisters. Though I don't really know my aunt that well and she can tend to have a strong personality, I do respect her immensely for her role in my mom's life.

Okie dokie, I'm off to relax for a bit before Brooke wakes up. Me and relax in the SAME SENTENCE??? Incredible!

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