Date Night.

What a day. We started our day at around 1:00 this morning (no exaggeration). Jacob didn't seem to be feeling well when we put him to sleep; we thought it could be teething or ears or maybe both. The little guy was up and wailing just a few hours after he finally settled down. Our attempts to calm him down and put him back to sleep failed miserably. Into our bed he came. Normally, this stops any problems. He snuggles in between us and falls fast asleep. Not last night. He was up and bouncing around, holding the headboard so he could jump on the bed, laying on my stomach and then laying on Phil's... he just could not get comfortable.

Before I continue... promise you won't judge me.... do it, make a promise right now.

We both rolled over to the outside, so that Jacob might think we are sleeping and try to go to sleep. Jacob, perhaps wanting my attention, jumped forward over my back and fell.... right off the bed. I know what some of you are thinking. This is why you don't let children sleep in the bed. What if I told you that there just happened to be two fluffy pillows at the bedside exactly where he landed. We got lucky. I was also done with Jacob in the bed (if you don't remember all of my bad experiences with Jacob and the bed, read back to month five or so). I successfully rocked him to sleep and slipped back to my bed.

Fast-forward ten minutes. Screaming again. Philip opts to take this one. I assume that he is going to rock him back to sleep. I honestly think I am dreaming when, through our monitor, I hear Jacob laughing and running around his room. This must be a joke. I enter Jacob's room to see Philip sitting in the rocking chair, all of Jacob's toys and blankets covering the floor and Jacob toddling around the room pulling things out.

Me: Are you kidding me?
Philip: He wanted to play.

I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Yes, Philip, we should allow the thirteen month old to choose whether he wants to play at 2:00 in the morning. Our night did not get much better from here. We counted down the hours until we could bring him to the doctor at nine, convinced that he had horrible ear infections. You can imagine my reaction when the doctor told us that he was perfect.

Me: Well, are you sure?
Doctor: His ears look perfect. Nose looks perfect. He is great. Maybe he had a little gas or something?
Me: He was screaming his head off last night. Are you sure nothing is wrong?
Doctor (looking at Jacob): Are your parents lying? You are just the happiest baby ever.

Hmmmpphh. That's what I think of that. I think there should be a new rule at the doctor's office. If your kid is not sick, you don't have to pay your co-pay. I'm not saying that I would have liked there to be something wrong, but at least I would feel like we were getting our $35 worth. I'm not a huge fan of dishing that out to hear that my son might have had a little gas.

Our day did get better... the little one caught up on sleep and Philip and I just recently returned home from date night. I was even surprised with some beautiful flowers. And while we did manage to squeeze in some much needed adult conversation, our minds never drifted too far away from our little one....


Sleepy, sleepy little boy after a rough night.