The Supers...

Last night, I was thinking of my friend, Heather. Not because I make a habit of staying awake and thinking of people I've only met online...but because of a post she recently had on Hopeful Parents, Confessions From A Supermom.

It's a really funny read...and so so true on many fronts. But last night, at 1:00, and 2:30, and 3:45, and 4:00, I thought about Heather, and how she had it all wrong. I thought, I am absolutely a supermom. With REAL super-powers. How else could you explain how I can completely function with so little sleep, for years on end? Sure, Max has been doing so much better on the sleeping front with the help of the magical medicine, but when he has his restless nights, I jump slip back into the mode of sleeping with one eye and ear open, ready to jump up as soon as he makes a sound.

How I can be in a deep sleep and wake at the second his breathing changes, or a seizure starts. It's super-human. I don't wake like that when anyone else in the house shifts or stirs...only him.

Max gets into these episodes of not sleeping for different reasons. But last night, it was all about the breathing. He was sleeping fine while we were getting ready for bed, and woke up with a little seizure. After that, he never really went back to sleep. Thanks, mostly to his weird breathing. Steve says it sounds like he's scuba diving. He's not stuffy, nose is not runny, I think it's just his lazy muscles flapping around in his mouth...with slobber, that sounds like he's in serious distress. And you better believe that keeps me up!

When he's having a night last night, I put my cape on and really put all my strengths to work. Because on a night like last night, I'm the only super-hero that can make it better.

I first checked him to see if his nose was all boogered up...nope clean as a whistle. Then I squirted some saline to make him sneeze...nothin'. Finally, I do something that has worked his whole life...positioning. I put him on his side, and still he's having a hard time getting into a good breathing pattern, snort-slurp-huff. So, I tucked up behind him, put my hand at the back of his neck and pushed his head back so his mouth would open up to breathe. Aaaahhh sweet silent breathing! He went to sleep immediately.

But my supermom job was not done...Now, I am stuck, in his bed, with my hand propping his extremely heavy head in the right position so he'll stay breathing properly. So with all my stealthy ways, I let go of his neck, and sneak out of his bed, into my own. Chest puffed out with supermom pride...who else can get him to sleep so perfectly? SUPERMOM!!!!!!

And as I lay my head on my pillow, yank my super covers back from superdaddy, I close my eyes, ready for uninterrupted sleep.

But something inevitable has happened. Max was born from two super-heroes. That, by nature, makes him have his own super-strengths. And for Max, it's his ability to know EXACTLY when mommy closes her eyes...he wakes up crying.

So up I go, this time to stay in his bed for the night. Because all super-heroes need sleep every once in a while.