A Little Sleep

Other then finally getting the last of the trip posted, I did nothing yesterday.  Well, it took me all day to get the posts written and photos attached.  I had not slept well at all.  I was up every 15 minutes with Ednarose.  And if there is anything my friends know about me, I need my sleep.  Now with the "c" it is even more important that I get the rest and sleep I need.  And I am still not fully recovered from the trip with Dad.   I am so happy to have Christopher here, but my mistake to not realize how long it would take me to recover, because I am really too tired to give him everything I want.  And everything I want to give him is my attention and joy.  He is such a great kid, and very understanding and kind and silly and as he puts it weird.  So we get along wonderfully, but with my old worn down self, I am not bringing the joy and laughter and energy to this relationship that I had hoped to bring.  


So getting my rest and sleep is more important then ever, so that I can be here fully and enjoy my time with him, but I don't nap.  Sometimes I try and if I am completely and utterly exhausted, maybe I can sleep during the day.  But then as often as not, then I have a terrible time falling asleep at night.  And Friday night being the first night with the puppy there was little sleep.  So I sat in my chair.  So with great trepidation I threw in the towel around 8:30 to go to bed.  My plan was to read for half an hour and get back on my normal cycle of bed at 9.  


How was I going to accomplish this with a puppy in the house?  I had given in and I was going to crate her.  Give her a safe, secure cave like environment that would after she had exhausted herself crying fall asleep and I could sleep.  But I could not rest while she howled and cried and sobbed and wailed.  I tried covering the kennel.  I moved the kennel into the showed and closed the curtain.  I tried putting a blanket on the kennel.  I moved the kennel into my walk in closet.  It is small, but with more then enough room for the kennel and to have space around it.  I tried singing to her.  Maybe that made things worst.  So I finally (I might have lasted 30 minutes) gave in and opened up her kennel.  I closed my bedroom door and thought, I would limit the damage she can do in the house to the bedroom.  She was no happier.  So another hour goes by, she is crying off and on.  I am getting up and down, up and down, trying so hard to find something that will help her to sleep.  I tried warm milk.  I tried taking her outside to do her business.  I tried snuggling with her.  I tried "no".  She is not even 6 weeks old and she has already beaten me.  


Bob is confused and freaked out.  He is fine with the puppy if she just wouldn't come up and try to nurse on him or bite him.  Same with Harry, only Harry does not have the ability to run away from her. Bob came home with me after i had carried him around for 5 or 6 hours and put him in the bed and we slept.  He did have to go out a couple of times in the night, but he would nudge at me, I would get up take him outside, he would do his business and then come right back in and go to sleep.  But he was older.  Ednarose is still just a little tiny baby. 


I finally gave up and figured I could take her biting and wanting to play in the bed, I could not lay there and hear her cry and wail.  So I reached down and picked her up, snuggled down with her and I guess all the crying and drama had worn her out, because she stretched out and slept most of the night.  Poor Christopher has a lower tolerance to Ednarose's distress then I do, so even though I had closed the door, he kept going back and forth between his bed and my room.   But everyone got to sleep once the baby had stretched out and slept.  Although Bob was not able to sleep in his normal spot next to me, which is affecting his sleeping, he did manage to get some sleep in the living room.


I know that she is growing up each day and it is only a matter of time before she is sleeping through the night, and the household has settled down.  And I am still glad that she is here while Christopher is here.  He loves playing with her.  It is funny his parents first response, was he is not bringing Ednarose home.  I was taken aback by that in that I would never ever do that to Christopher.  Make him think he could have a pet without talking to his parents first.  Last year he had a rooster her, David Smith.  I do remember some good nature teasing, but there was never a moment when Christopher or I seriously considered him taking David Smith home.  


And it was his parent who said he could have a kitten at Aunt Kathleen's house if she agreed, before anything was mentioned to me.  Christopher and I knew that I wanted a black female lab. I wanted my Ednarose.  I did not call his parents and ask them if he could have one of the other puppies.  I never even considered it.  Neither did Christopher.  And now after the short time he has spent with Ednarose, I don't think he would be interested in a puppy for a while.  He loves her and playing with her, but he has seen how much work it is with a puppy.  He tried to give the wiggly little thing a bath, and he did a fine job, but it did not turn out to be as much fun as it is on TV.  So he is more then happy to spend this time with her here and then when he comes up for visits.  So I hope we finally have laid this to rest.


One of the most interesting benefits of having this little chunky creature is getting to be with three generations of dogs.  For the past many years I have had a mother dog and her puppies, but once the puppies were a few years old, there wasn't that much difference between the generations.  But now with Harry at 13, Bob at 3 and Ednarose so very young, the generation differences .  Harry is slow, older, more tolerant, easier going.  Bob has grown up in less then 24 hours.  He has been a puppy for his 3 plus years, the baby in the house.  And there was very little maturing going on in his brain.  But now with the puppy, he is more mature.  He looks more mature,  He acts more mature, and although he has been a good dog and mostly listened and did as he was asked.  Now, he takes pride in being the bigger brother.  He misses being the baby, but Christopher and I are trying hard to make sure to give snuggle time to all three dogs, and the cats.  There is a lot of loving going on in this house right now.  And really all things considered it is going very well.


And by being able to sleep for 6 hours fairly uninterrupted last night has made all the difference in my attitude this morning.  We have rehearsal today, and it will be a long one, but I am ready, and hopefully enough rest to get what needs to get done today, be pleasant and enjoy all the love and joy I have around me.  


I am grateful to have this time with my Christopher.  
I am grateful for our new puppy
I am grateful for my other kids
I am grateful that with all the animals in this house, that we relly do get along so well.  
I am even grateful that marina has moved back in the house with us.
I am not grateful for the mess she adds to my life.
But I am grateful to have her
It is Sunday morning, I have had some sleep
feeling happy this morning
I think I will make pancakes