Charlotte is up at 3 am

Charlotte woke Mommy just before 3 am this morning, screaming and crying. Occasionally, Charlotte cries out in the night while she is sleeping, but it is just a brief outburst that doesn’t usually require attention—-perhaps she’s had a bad dream or something startled her in her sleep. Tonight was an exception. Charlotte was yelling and crying at the top of her lungs, which bolted Mommy out of a sound sleep. Mommy hesitated to take Charlotte out of her crib for fear that Charlotte would think it was time to get up and play. Mommy laid Charlotte back down in her crib and rubbed her tummy while making gentle sounds, assuring Charlotte that she was alright. Charlotte settled down but showed no interest in falling back to sleep. Mommy made a bottle, which Charlotte took immediately. Mommy continued to rub Charlotte’s tummy while a lullaby played in the background and objects were projected on the ceiling—-Charlotte loves looking at the characters and will frequently point to the ceiling to remind you that you haven’t turned them on. About an hour later, once Charlotte was settled, Mommy tip-toed back to her bed, but couldn’t fall back to sleep immediately—-she was anticipating another episode once Charlotte finished her bottle. A little while later, Charlotte did let out a little whimper, but was fast asleep. Eventually, Mommy fell asleep, expecting Charlotte to sleep later in the morning because of the disruption in her sleep.

Mommy didn’t get a chance to tell Daddy about the events in the middle of the night before Daddy went in to gently wake up Charlotte for her program. I don’t think Charlotte was too interested in getting up at first, as she cried real tears, but that soon changed. For a change, Charlotte wanted Mommy to hold her on her lap at her desk while she drank her bottle—-she usually asks to sit on Daddy’s lap. Mommy enjoyed this time snuggling and kissing Charlotte until she wanted down to play with her toys.



So that Mommy could continue working, Daddy took Charlotte to her Music and Movement class with her empty Kleenex box in hand. Today, the children made a guitar with elastics and their empty Kleenex boxes. Charlotte was more interested in putting the elastics on her wrists than making a musical instrument. Charlotte was quite excited when she got home, bouncing all over the place. She had absolutely no interest in going down for a nap, which she usually does when she returns home from her programs. So, Mommy and Charlotte played for about 30 minutes before Charlotte was ready to lie down. Charlotte frequently plays in her crib, chattering to herself, before she gets up from her nap. Mommy likes to stand at Charlotte’s closed door and hear her chattering—-she has the cutest voice.

Later in the afternoon, Charlotte and Mommy jumped into Mommy’s big bed, bundled up in the blanket, and snuggled up to watch one of Mommy’s taped programs. Mommy was hoping that she and Charlotte could enjoy a little nap together, but Charlotte didn’t show any interest; however, Charlotte was quite content to lie quietly on the bed. Periodically, Charlotte would get down off the bed and play for a little bit in her room, but would return to get up on the bed again. Charlotte is battling a little cold, with a runny nose and a little cough; however, late in the afternoon, Mommy noticed that the cold has now affected her voice.

Charlotte was quite funny in the kitchen while we made dinner. Charlotte danced around the kitchen to songs on the radio and was being silly—-Mommy couldn’t help herself from laughing.

Charlotte didn’t really eat very much at dinner, again. However, she literally gobbled up a whole banana. Dinner over, we retired upstairs for some reading and playing. Charlotte has taken to climbing into the rocking chair in her room and pulling down books off the shelf. She sits quietly in the chair and turns the pages of the book. She then pushes the book on the floor and grabs another off the shelf. Some days, almost 2 shelves of books have been on the floor. Mommy just gets all the books nicely put away and Charlotte resumes reading and pulling more books down.

At 8 pm, Charlotte was definitely ready for bed. Mommy hopes that Charlotte sleeps through the night and doesn’t have a repeat of last night.