affected, concerned…connected

I’ve noticed that on several particular occasions, Sharice has a difficult time sleeping…even though she’s been fed and burped, and her nappy is dry. Those times, nothing is wrong with her. The only reason why she can’t have a good sleep is because she’s uneasy; and she’s uneasy because it seems she’s affected and concerned. Here’s a few instances that happened so you'll understand:

Our family (hubby, me, Caila and Sharice) all sleep together. We usually go to bed at the same time, but sometimes, hubby and I need to go out for some reason or other. When we arrive home (which is usually pretty late), we find that Sharice is still awake…and doesn’t sleep soundly until we’re also in bed. This happens all the time!

The other night (around 2am) Sharice woke up, so I immediately fed her. Usually, after she’s had her fill and I’ve burped her, she goes back to sleep easily. But in the middle of her feeding, Caila suddenly woke up because she had a bad dream. Since it seemed it would take a while for her to sleep again, I told Caila that I would finish feeding her sister first and put her to sleep before I took care of her. She agreed. But when I put down the little one and turned my attention to the big sister, Sharice woke up again. I knew the baby was sleepy, but she was just uneasy. So for almost two and a half hours, all of us were awake in the room, with hubby and I each carrying a daughter and trying to put them to sleep. Finally, just before 5am, Caila fell asleep; and within two minutes, the younger one followed.

And the entire morning today, Sharice wouldn’t sleep…until I woke up. Because I had been up practically every two hours last night to feed her, I wasn’t able to sleep well. When she woke up again at 6am, Mama took her from me after I fed her and changed her nappy. After that, I went back to sleep and woke up just before 12 noon. When I went to our living room, I found Sharice sleeping. Thirty minutes later, Mama told me that this was the only time since I gave the little one to her that she slept soundly. And since I’m awake and by her side, she’s still sleeping…and it’s been almost 3 hours!

I can’t remember if Caila was like this when she was a baby, nor have I heard of babies in general being sensitive like this during their early months. It is a bit of an inconvenience (for a lack of a better word) and concern because it affects her sleep; but I can’t help but be a little bit glad that in her own little way, Sharice is showing how connected she is to us, and how much she loves us.