Running Buddy

Oh teeth, how I wish you would all just break through already. I want my happy baby and good sleeper back!!! Last night was a brutal night of sleep. Chase spent two and a half hours straight crying, screaming and tossing and turning in his crib. Poor little guy was so uncomfortable and absolutely nothing I did to calm him down worked. I held him, I rocked him, I rubbed his back, I bicycled his legs, I talked to him. He was having none of it. It was almost like having a newborn all over again, except possibly worse because his crying is SO MUCH louder and more agonizing now.

So when he woke up early this morning screaming uncontrollably, I was not exactly bright and chipper, not that I am generally bright and chipper in the morning anyway. Not wanting him to wake up the entire household (Riley had been up late by his standards having a playdate with some friends and Casey had been up extremely late by anyone's standards at the Bears-Panthers game in Charlotte), I decided to pluck Chase out of his crib and get him out of the house quickly. Holding a large, squirmy baby while changing my clothes, pouring a glass of milk and putting on my shoes proved to be a challenge, but I succeeded to do all of the above and get him out the door without him crying.

It was a hot, humid North Carolina morning as we made our way down the driveway. I am completely out of shape, not that it would matter in conditions such as those, but for the next 48 minutes (who's counting) I ran around our neighborhood and Graylyn pushing my sleepy little guy in his stroller trying to coax him back to sleep. Sleep did not happen, but something equally as amazing did: I actually enjoyed this early morning exertion. And Chase seemed to love watching the sun rise, listening to the birds chirp and the cicadas hum, and taking in all of the people and places we encountered. We saw other early morning runners, people walking their dogs, dads pushing their also-tired babies in strollers (must be that Saturday mornings are for mommies to sleep in???), fountains at Graylyn and cats on the prowl.

Don't get me wrong, given my preference at 6:30 in the morning, I'd probably choose to be snug in my bed, but this was a pretty nice alternative. For both of us.