Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Who's the Parent?

It's about 6:00 a.m., and I open my eyes to find Ian staring at me. I'm thinking, "No way is it time to get up," and I scoop him up into bed between Paul and myself. A few minutes of him wiggling, tossing and turning, kicking his legs, flinging his arms and socking me in the nose, he finally settles in and falls asleep. Sleep, blissful sleep. I'm hoping for another hour of the coveted stuff.

"Aaaahhhh. Aaaahhh, aaaahh, aahhh, aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh." Laurel tells us she's awake. The clock says it's after seven, I should go ahead and get up. Oh, but it's so warm and cozy under the covers. My cold nose and cheeks tell me there's a slight chill in the room. I really don't want to leave the comfort of my bed. I stay put and rationalize that maybe, just maybe, Laurel will go back to sleep.

"Aaaaaaah. Aaaaahhh, aaaahhhh, aahh, aaahh, aahh, AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Alright, so she's not going back to sleep. Paul isn't moving, but Ian bolts upright. "Mommy, baby's awake."

I don't move, I don't say a word. I hold the covers tight around me and ignore everything outside my cozy space.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! AAHH, AAHH, AAHH, AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Laurel's screams are now continuous. Boy, she sounds pissed off someone's not there to do her bidding.

Barely heard over the crying coming from the other room, Ian simply states, "Mommy, baby's awake."

Paul and I continue being still and quiet. Concerned, Ian repeats his observation, "Mommy, baby's awake," and begins climbing his way out of the layers of sheets, pillows and covers. I feel him try to go over my legs, and he soon falls on top of me. I still refuse to move or say a thing. Paul now has to be awake, but is not letting on.

Ian wiggles his way over me and onto the floor. Somewhat disoriented due to the abrupt wake up call, he shuffles his way out our room and sweetly calls out, "Laurel, I'm coming. I'm coming baby."

Ian flips the light switch on in Laurel's room. "Hi, baby!" he cheerfully sings out, and her screams turn into giggles.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

God, can I identify with that. Not the young kid going to help the baby part, but the "Please go back to sleep, please go back to sleep, please go back to sleep..."

Mama's Moon said...

Love this post! It reminds me of how sweet big brothers can be, especially when little sis sounds distressed; and also that they're the perfect pinch-hitters when both mommy and daddy need a lazy moment or two!

Good job, Ian! Mama, you've GOT to be proud of that!

Anonymous said...

Cool! Can he fix breakfast too?

Anonymous said...

Cute, but my question is, Did it buy you any more time under the covers?

carrie said...

Too bad Ian isn't old enough to get Laurel up, change and feed her so that mommy could sleep in, huh? We've had many a morning like this in our house too!!

Carrie

Damselfly said...

Wow, you have him trained! ;)

Elizabeth said...

That's awesome.. now if only he could nurse her, right??

Lady M said...

Oh yeah, baby! That's terrific.

Anonymous said...

Oh how precious! What a sweet big brother :)

Anonymous said...

Oh how sweet!

Anonymous said...

Wow does that story ever sound familiar! Somedays you just need those few extra minutes in bed....but it never seems to work ou that way.

Knitting Maniac said...

At least he went to sleep. In our house, that NEVER happens. Ever.