Friday, January 15, 2010

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 (give or take), naptime reigns supreme. We're in the middle of Nora's transition to one nap, so those hours can be a little off... but generally, I can count on two hours where all little people are snoring. Only very extraordinary circumstances will cause us to skip naptime.

Of the two girls, Phoebe is easily the better napper. (I think Nora is afraid she's going to miss out on some action if she naps!) She can sleep through pretty much anything: vacuums, barking dogs, even Mommy coming in and out of her room. All she requires is Lamby, and she'll sleep just about anywhere. I am so thankful for her sleep habits; they are a consistent blessing to this tired Mommy.


But for six days straight (yes, I'm counting) Phoebe has experienced "night terrors" during her nap. She cries out - often hysterical, to the point of almost throwing up - with her eyes open and glassy. She reaches for things that aren't there, semi-conscious. And although she can answer simple questions, she's not fully aware of her surroundings. It usually takes around ten minutes to get her to snap out of these episodes, and then she'll go right back to sleep. The pediatrician ruled out some possible causes, and we're clueless as to what's causing these.

Today was the first day Phoebe mentioned her bad dreams. As I tucked her in for her nap, she asked to sleep elsewhere; she feared that the monsters could get her on both sides of the bed. We prayed and talked about the dream briefly, but she was ready to sleep. An hour and fifteen minutes later, she was crying.

I'm at a loss as to why she's suffering so. And yet, her suffering - as small as it may be - is ordained for His glory. My heart aches for her in this season of bad dreams, and I pray that it will end quickly.

In this time where so many are suffering greatly, may we all be encouraged...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

2 comments:

Malone Family said...

Emerson had those for about two months at night and it was awful and just plain pitiful! She never mentioned monsters or anything specific but would wake up screaming like she has never done before-just shaking. She would say "I so scared Mommy!" It broke my heart.
Every night we did the same thing and prayed with her about it and said that we have to say "fear not!" as we were in her room at night. Thankfully it has gotten better now and we wish you the best with it.

The Sinks said...

Kathryn went through a short phase of night terrors at night, one of the episodes lasting for about an hour. They are horrifying, as much for the parents as for the child. I will pray that they will end quickly for her. (I think Kathryn had hers over the course of about two weeks, and hasn't had any since.)