Rest and Recovery

Surprise, surprise, my day starts at 5am!

The hangover from yesterday's Naming Day / Surprise Wedding celebrations isn't as bad as expected given my much-reduced alcohol tolerance, but still I'm not feeling too "bouncy" (which at least means I'm not still drunk!).

Once the check-list has been attended to (give son water, hug, milk etc) he is still not ready to sleep.  It is morning.  My goal is to give JDI Mummy a few hours more of recovery sleep after she was "on duty" in the night.  Out tag team working well again.

Little boy was tired and needed hugs so I tried the BabyBjorn carrier, to settle him.  Some squats and rhythmic swaying to MTV Dance soon lulled him to silence - then for the tricky manoeuvre.

I dance into the spare room, close the door silently behind me, undo 3 clips on the carrier and hoist him onto my shoulder, still rocking to the music coursing through my blood.  Then cupping his head and pressing his body to me, now free from the harness, I lay him on the pre-prepared bed next to his Flopsy Bunny (I admit I named that one, am a tad embarrassed about it, but it is apt).

Then comes the crucial moment of withdrawal as if whipping away a table cloth without disturbing the crockery.  This works about 90% of the time.  But not today.  With a sigh I return him to the carrier, retreat to the plasma screen and bob and weave as before.

He is so tired that I know he needs sleep even more than I do, so selflessness kicks in.  When he drifts off I merely melt onto the sofa, tv control and bottle of sugared water to hand.  He remains asleep!  I'm too tired to move.  if I can't have sleep then rest will suffice.

Then it's SkyPlus to the rescue and I'm grateful I recorded a few things.  I watch a full uninterrupted episode of Big Bang Theory and then settle into Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey - a classic suited to my temporary intellectual level.  My eyelids fall for a moment, I slide a few inches down the sofa, almost lying down, legs stretching into the middle of the living room.  The next second the credits are rolling and my wife is spying through the glass in the door, miming whether I want eggs?  I swat her away sleepily and drift off again.

By the time I wake and my boy starts to stir, it's amazingly 9.30am!  More sleep than I could possibly have hope for!  JDI Mummy has scrambled eggs on toast sorted and we both look fresh - unbelievable!

I'll resume items from my To Do list tomorrow, as there are days, like today, when you just need to enjoy the moment, well fed and well rested!