Luke's $999,983 Dollar Smile and Newborn Kyle

Luke's million dollar smile (as Nonnie likes to call it) may have been downgraded a bit. If you look closely at the photo below (where I asked him to make his famous "finky face"), you will see one of his top teeth is chipped :( I noticed it last night was I was feeding him dinner. No idea how/when/where it occurred. But it is very jagged so I am taking him to the dentist this morning...hopefully they can smooth it out.

And in Kyle news, I feel like he's a newborn again in terms of the nights. Basically, he has had a cold since early December (literally). Very mild the last couple months, but definitely worse at night. And he still can't actually blow his nose, so stuff just sits back there (and makes him cough). But he thinks he needs a tissue constantly, because he feels "boogies" in there. But rarely is there anything actually on the tissue because when I tell him to blow, he blows out his mouth. I'm all over the place here (blame it on sleep-deprivation), but what I'm leading up to is that he hasn't slept through the night in months. And here are the reasons (two related to his cold, and two diaper related):

1) Coughing. I feel so bad for him when it's keeping him up, because I know what it's like. I've been giving him water to sip on and honey, but neither seems to do much. Although he loves the honey!

2) "Runny" nose. Two things with this, and it's damned if I do, damned if I don't. If I leave tissues in his crib, so that he can wipe his non-dripping nose whenever he so desires, they always end up on the floor and he then gets hysterical when he wants one in the night. So I have to go in and get them. And if I don't leave tissues in his crib, then he wakes me up throughout the night yelling that he needs a tissue.

3) Drenched. He wakes up soaked (diaper completely saturated and jammies all wet) and needs to be changed.

4) Poop. This is a new one. He now poops in the middle of the night (like a newborn), and needs to be changed. This was brought on by going full-days at preschool. He was used to pooping in the afternoon during his "nap". But now that he's at school in the afternoon, his schedule's all off and he doesn't poop. Sometimes I can get him to do one before bed. But sometimes he tries and can't, and then does one in the night.

Sooooo, all of these are fairly legitimate reasons for him to be waking me up (except the tissue thing). And in reality, they only require that I get up with him for a few minutes and then he goes right back to sleep. But even though it's been two years of being alone in the bed, I still have so much trouble falling asleep. And to have to do it a few times every night means I'm only sleeping for an hour or two at a time, averaging maybe 4 hrs total for the night.

And after so many weeks of this, I feel like it's really catching up with me. I get up in the morning in such a horrible mood, with very little patience. And Kyle's in a horrible mood because he's also somewhat sleep-deprived. And the day starts off with so many kid "chores" (diapers, getting dressed, getting breakfast, brushing teeth/hair, etc). And Kyle just fusses, whines, and generally drives me crazy through all of it. Such is life.

And unrelated, although somewhat relevant...I ordered Kyle a bed (just a twin mattress and boxspring) yesterday, and some truck bedding to go along with it. I think he'll do fine with the transition from the crib. And he will now be able to get all the tissues he wants in the night without my assistance! But I will now be stripping a bed instead of crib when he wakes up soaked. We'll see how it all plays out, but I really, really hope our nights improve soon.