I wouldn't say I am one to have bad days. Busy work days, tough days with the kids, so much to do but not enough time...these things don't typically phase me much. I am a very "go with the flow" type of person. But, two nights in row of less than 3 hours of sleep starts to get to me!
My kids are amazing sleepers. They nap for 2-3 hours every day (at the same time as each other) and sleep from about 8-8 each night...but...out of nowhere comes the dreaded and unexpected teething and/or sickness and they are completely different little people from 8pm - 8am. Now, I don't "baby" my kids too much or try not to, but when they are sick or uncomfortable I tend to...I mean, who doesn't want to be babied when they don't feel well? I know I still do! So, I have as soft spot and extra patience when they don't feel well, but last night brought it to another level. It all started Sunday night into Monday...with 3 nonconsecutive hours of sleep because Anya (my 1 year old) is cutting 2 teeth. I then worked all day and then bedtime came around again...they went to bed at 8pm and then the ridiculousness began...(I seriously cannot make this stuff up).
Jaxon (my 2.5 year old) was coughing, crying and very stuffy by 8:30. (You know then and there it is going to be a long night)! Then Anya woke up at 9:30 and while I was in with her, my husband went into see Jax again because he was once again coughing and crying. We got them settled down and decided to try to get some sleep while we could. Anya woke up again at 10:30 so I went in to settle her down (which took no less than 20 minutes). I was silently walking towards her door and she started crying again. I went back, rubbed her back and got her comfortable and when she was asleep I headed for the door again and immediately Jaxon started crying...so I (quickly before Anya woke up) went directly into his room. Settled him down and then I went back to bed. My head literally hit the pillow and Anya started crying (I don't know how she always knows the exact moment my head hits the pillow but she does)!! So, I went back in with Anya and rocked her back to sleep. I put her in her crib, waited for her to settle in, took a silent step away, and once again, she sensed that I was not right there and began to cry. (On a side note, I still cannot figure out HOW kids know when you step away even if you don't make a sound. Anyone else have this problem? It is so crazy to me. They can be fast asleep and breathing heavy and you think you are in the clear and you make your move towards the door as quiet as possible and they still know and you get sucked back in)! But anyways, I decided to take her into the spare room and see if she would fall asleep with me since Nate had to work in the morning...so after she did a lot of tossing and turning, smiling at me and saying hi (which was not amusing) and snuggling with her stuffed animal, she eventually she fell asleep and I put her in her room at 12:30...but...once again, as I silently walked away, Jaxon started crying. He was pretty stuffy so I elevated his mattress, gave him some water and he went back to bed. Now I seriously cannot make this up...I got in bed, finally started to relax and I think I might have even dozed off for a few minutes and what do you know?!...Anya was crying again!! However, by this time it was the magical hour that she could have another dose of Advil (not that it helped the first half of the night), but I still re-medicated her and I honestly cannot remember if I rocked her at that point nor will I bore you with more of the same details I just shared...but basically the rest of the night was a blur of the same back and forth and back and forth between their rooms...I finally slept from about 3:30 until the 5am alarm was (loudly) going off. Anya was awake at 6am for the day and there you have it...worst night ever!
So, as I chugged a cup of coffee while watching a little Sofia the First and having some more bonding time with my sweet little girl at 6am, I was not in the greatest place. But, I had two options. To be completely miserable and drag myself through the day or to do something that would cheer me up. When all else fails, I decide to achieve a goal. I had been wanting to do a 5 mile run. This may be a lot to some and not a lot to others but regardless, it was the next step in increasing my mileage. I honestly tend to feel slightly guilty about taking the kids on long runs because I always feel that they could be running outside or playing with toys, but today I had zero guilt. Not only did they keep me up all night long, but they didn't feel great so it was relaxing for them. (Anya actually fell asleep at 1.5 miles so it was a pretty peaceful run). So, I did it. I ran 5.01 miles. I am on my way to a 10K! AND I feel so much better than this morning!
It is truly amazing how exercise is such a positive outlet and can change you mentally if you let it! I am so glad I went for that run and made myself feel better rather than dragging my tired self through the day. (Don't get me wrong, I am definitely still tired and actually drinking a coffee right now), but now I feel accomplished and can cross another goal off my list! :)
Use exercise as an outlet next time you feel like your day isn't starting off right! I promise it will help! :)
~Erin Leigh
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