Attack of the B-2 Bomber

Last night at about 12:20, I was feeling very relieved that It looked like Addie was finally going to have a good night (after two nights of being up every 20 minutes) She was snoring away peacefully in her bassinet. It looked like I was going to get some much needed sleep…and I drifted off…

12:45 am a scream pierces the night…not a little “having a nightmare” kind of scream that we hear every few nights…but a terrifying, something very, very bad is happening kind of scream. I bolt out of bed and run into the boys’ room. Clay is cowering in the corner at the head of his bed. In between screams he is shouting “IT’S GONNA EEEAAAATTTTT MEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”.

It is nothing new for Clay to have nightmares; in fact he often isn’t even awake when he cries out at night. All you usually have to do is touch him and he calms down and falls back asleep. But this time he was very obviously awake and was pointing at something. As I get closer to his bed I realize he is pointing at the Matchbox B-2 Bomber* that he had insisted on sleeping with that night.

(Cuddly looking isn’t it)

I picked it up and said “Look baby..It’s just your ‘Spy Plane’. Do you want Mommy to put it on the floor or take it to the playroom? “

Clay responded, wiping tears from his face, “No it’s my spy plane.”

So I hand it back to him and he lies down and pulls his blanket back over him. So I head out of the room, just as I am on the verge of closing the door Caleb cries out (oh crap, I guess it was too much to hope that blood curdling scream hadn’t woken him up) and begs me to turn the light. I go over and turn it on. Clay starts crying that the light is too bright. *Sigh* This is a fight we have ALL the time. Which is one of the many reasons I wish they each had their own room. I go over to Clay and pull his covers up higher and promise him that I will come in and turn the light off as soon as Bubba is back asleep. Shockingly, he accepts this answer and closes his eyes.

I pat myself on the back a bit, having handled it all so quickly and head back to bed. As I open the door to our room it squeaks a tiny and I do mean tiny bit. The baby wakes up…see what happens when you don’t knock on wood. Yes, all that ruckus and it’s a tiny squeak that wakes her up. So I scoop her up from her bassinet and climb into bed hoping to get her back to sleep before she wakes up too much…And still hoping to get a decent amount of sleep.

About 10 minutes later Clay is screaming again, this time it’s “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy”. But as I have the baby I send Joseph in to the rescue. 9 times out of 10 Daddy would be allowed to solve the problem…not tonight though. Clay starts chanting “No I need Mommy, No I neeeeeeed Mommy”.

I sigh and climb out of bed, hand the baby to Joseph and head in to save the day.

“Mommy, it’s too scary, it’s toooo scary!” Clay cries out when he sees me.

“What’s too scary baby?” I ask as I scoop him up and sit on the edge of his bed.

“The snakes on the floor!”

“There are snakes?” He nods. “Do you want Mommy to make them go away?” Another nod.

“Snakes.” I state very firmly. “You go away. You leave my Clay alone. You aren’t allowed to come back!” (This monster banishing trick usually works beautifully)

“Did the snakes go away?” Yet another nod. “Ok, lie back down and go to sleep. I love you”

“No, Mommy. Sleeeeep on the cooouuucccchhhhhhh!!!. It’s just too scary!!!” Uh-oh uncharted waters here…sleeping on the couch…all the mischief he can get into out there while everyone sleeps starts running through my head.

“Ummmm…how about you come sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s bed?” (Good-bye sleep)

“No Mommy…the couch.”

“Ummm…uhhh… let me go talk to Daddy. Stay in your bed.” I head back to our room and talk to Joseph. He is sitting up in the bed playing with Addie (Oh yes…GOODBYE SLEEP!). We finally decided to go ahead and let him try it in the hopes that we can all get back to sleep before that alarm goes off.

I head back into the boys’ room, gather up Clay and all his blankets and settle him on the couch (spy plane in hand) and head back to close the door to their room before climbing back into bed. But as I try to close the door, Caleb starts crying (and me just a bit too…ohh sleep…where are you?)

“What’s wrong baby?”

“Wanna go watch TV with Bubba”…ohhh crap…what did I just start.

“No, baby, Bubba isn’t watching TV, he is sleeping.”

“I wanna sleep there too!!!”

Thinking frantically…how do I get out of this…”Ummm…ummmm…Bubba is sleeping out there because it is dark, he doesn’t like the light on. Do you want to do sleep in the dark?”

“Not the dark mommy…the couch!”

“Well it’s dark by the couch, why don’t you stay in here with the light?”

“The light?” thinking hard, “Ok mommy”

WHAT!?!...it worked…WOW!!!!

“Ok, night-night bubs…I love you”

“Night Mommy.”

I head back to our room …again… And take the happy, smiling, giggly baby (at 1:30am…ohhh sleep…how I miss you) back from Joseph, who by the way is back asleep in 2.7 seconds…grrrrr…and settle back into bed a pray Addie falls asleep quickly.

Surprisingly, Clay slept soundly all night long and didn’t get into anything.

I just hope he doesn’t get the idea to make this a regular event.

*Why is Clay sleeping with a B-2 Bomber?? Because he wanted to sleep with the new fire truck they got at the store that day which makes very, very loud siren sounds. Yes..I broke my own rule and bought them a toy that makes noise..stupid…stupid. Anyway, I was finally able to get him to agree to the “Spy Plane” after 20 minutes of crying.