the joys of being a parent

Tonight, I was having a hard time getting my son to go to sleep. He wanted mommy to hold him. So, in my attempt to get him to bed so I could do some work, I got him out of his baby jail and sat down in the recliner in his room and held him. Seemed to be just the thing. He fell asleep almost instantly. Trouble is, so did I. I just woke up -- 2 hours after making the trek to his room. So much for getting my work done.

This recliner is a prominent feature in the relationship between me and my son. I spent the latter part of my pregnancy in this chair. I got the flu while I was pregnant and felt miserable. I don't remember the exact dates, but I do remember that the Winter Olympics were on. I was out of work for a week and I barely left the chair. I even slept there. As I got bigger, I had trouble finding a comfy spot in the bed, so I migrated to the recliner. I slept the last month of the pregnancy in the recliner. After Enzo was born, I tried sleeping in bed again, but it wasn't working. So off to the recliner it was. For about 6 months, I slept in the recliner nightly, with my son either sleeping with me on my chest, or beside me in his bassinette. It was handy for night feedings. I would just turn the TV on for some light when he would wake up and we were ready to go. I can't tell you how many movies I saw in the middle of the night while I was up with my son. I also became addicted to "World News Now" on ABC, which runs nightly from around 2-5 am. I was so well-informed. I knew what was going on before anyone else was even awake!

Those days are long gone. The kiddo sleeps in his own bed now. I finally rejoined my husband in our bed. The recliner was moved from the living room back to our son's room because the foot rest is broken. I didn't especially enjoy the days of living in the recliner when I was in them, but looking back now, it wasn't so bad. It was actually kind of like a special bonding period. I miss the days when I could snuggle with my son all night and he didn't protest. Now, it's hard to get him in one place for more than 5 minutes unless there's food or Spongebob Squarepants involved. I guess it's like the saying goes -- you don't know what you've got till it's gone. I'll always remember those days in the chair fondly.