Angie and sleep (or lack thereof)

Lately we've been having some difficulty with Angie sleeping at night.

Ever since Angie was little, she would softly rock herself to sleep in her crib. Basically, she would be sitting up in her crib while rocking until she fell asleep. A few months ago, she started to climb out of her crib during the night, so we purchased a regular size bed.

Since then, we've been experiencing some difficulty at night. Angie has been waking up during the night and has been sitting in the living room rocking in Alfonso's chair. I think waking up in the night is nothing new to her, but since she no longer has her crib to lean against, she now needs to calm herself by rocking in Alfonso's chair.

Not only is this disturbing the household (she often wakes up in the middle of the night and is very vocal- singing and talking, while waking up the household) but she is not sleeping as much at night. Every morning we find her lying in an uncomfortable position in Alfonso's chair. She is often very irritable during the day, and will try to fall asleep in the afternoon. We generally try to not let her sleep during the afternoon (because then she cannot fall asleep at her bedtime), but often we cannot handle her irritation.

I am not sure what to do about this, other than I hope she grows out of this stage. :(

LIke little lost sheep

hmm, I know this won't be the case in several years, but my kids are very attached to me. As Alfonso would say, "they follow you around like little lost sheep." And literally, they do. If I go upstairs to brush my teeth or put away clothes, I immediately hear my kids saying "mama?" and follow me upstairs. Or if I go downstairs to take the garbage to the big bins, I hear them say "mama?" and follow me downstairs.

My kids are two and three, what is going on? Are they still fearful of abandonment (or whatever stage those psychology theorists have come up with)?

I love the bond that I share with them, but it's difficult for me to have a moment to myself. And they still cry if I leave them home with Alfonso. At least after I have worked for two days, Angie is ready to give me plenty of kisses and hugs. I love having her run to me and sharing a long hug with her. She will often sigh and rest her head on my shoulder. And I love seeing Christopher's little face pressed up against his bedroom window when I am pulling into the garage after being gone for 14.5 hrs at work. When I am walking inside the house, I will hear him shouting "mama!" from his room.

I love my babies and I know that I will miss this time in their lives.

A year later....

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted. A little too long! I am doing well, much has been going on in our lives. I was reminded of my blog earlier this evening while skimming through old emails. I remember the reason why I started this blog nearly 5 years ago. It was when I first became pregnant with my son Christopher and I wanted to share our journey of parenthood and marriage.

These last several years haven't always been easy. Both of our immediate families live in other states. We also work (myself part time at 2 days/week and Alfonso 3 days/week) and we have children that are a year apart. Our lives have changed quite drastically over a very short period of time. Last year I was diagnosed with an auto immune disorder that has led me to undergo numerous tests and requires me to see two specialists every couple of months. I am doing well, but at times I feel fatigued.

I am back in school (I joined this past fall) and I am taking classes part time for my BSN. I hope to have my degree completed by Fall 2013. Speaking of which, I need to start my readings for this next week.