The Po Show

Count to 100

Last night as Ross and I were going to bed, we peeked in to check on the kids, as we always do. Both were out of their covers, but that was fine since it was 78 degrees in the house. Tessa was also way off her pillow, so I stepped into her room to get her re-situated (out of fear that she would wake up, uncomfortable, and find the need to run into our room and bump me off the bed and out to the couch).

As I walked up to her bed, however, she woke up, groggily bolted upright, and started to get out of bed. Not wanting that to happen, I coaxed her to lay back down, and I sat next to her so she'd stay put. She grabbed my arm and wound hers around it.

Inwardly sighing, I waited for her to settle back into sleep, for her breathing to slow. And then I counted to 100.

I've been doing this since my children were newborn infants. Matthew was such a poor sleeper and would simply NOT lay down to sleep. This was the baby who, at 2 WEEKS of age, once stayed awake for 40 hours straight. (Yes, we very nearly perished.) He seemed to fall asleep better when he was walked out in the hallway outside our apartment, so we (mostly I) spent innumerable hours walking him back and forth. I'd walk until he seemed to be dropping off, then I'd stand by the window at the back of the hallway, looking out at the 405 freeway, and I'd sway back and forth. I'd sway left, then right, and count that as one. I'd mentally count to 100, then ease back into the apartment. Then I'd sit on the couch, Matthew upright on my shoulder, and I'd slowly count to 100 again. Then Ross would pick him up off of me, gingerly carry him to the crib, and then lay him down. We said it was like trying to defuse a bomb. This was before we utterly gave up trying to get him to sleep in the crib at all.

With infant Tessa, I'd nurse her to sleep in my glider rocker, then hold her upright on my shoulder. Then I'd count to 100, and I'd lay her down. Repeat every 2 hours or so. As she grew older, I'd nurse her on the bed, wait for her to fall asleep, hold her in my arms, count to 100, then lay her beside me. As she grew older still, I'd lay down next to her at bedtime, wait for her to fall asleep, count to 100, then slip out the bedroom door.

There were rules for counting to 100. I could only start after they seemed fully asleep. If they moved and seemed less than fully asleep, I'd have to start over again. After I got to 100, I had to wait for a few more moments after disengaging myself, to make sure they didn't wake up. Sometimes after I counted to 100, I counted to 100 again just for good measure, since if they weren't fully asleep I was going to have to start the whole lengthy procedure over again.

Last night, I had to count to 100 four times. Each time I got to 100 and pulled my arm away, Tessa's eyes would open, she'd grab my arm back, and wrap it around herself again. Finally I slipped off the bed, out of the room, and in to my already snoring husband. But it felt sort of sweet and sort of painful, counting to 100 as my baby fell asleep, once again.