It was inevitable that the week leading up to my birthday would see hubby even more sleep-deprived than me due to working into the early hours on events followed by early morning starts. Naturally my two small children didn’t quite realise that the best birthday present to give mummy would be a good chunk of uninterrupted sleep. Instead, they chose the night before to both wake up multiple times. Each time it was an effort to get them back to sleep again. I could count the total hours of sleep on the fingers of one hand.
Lying there in a fog of tiredness just after 5am, with my toddler sleeping again now in the middle of our bed and the baby fidgeting in her sleep in her cot, my first thought was why today? A busy day ahead albeit a lovely family day. I wanted to be able to fully enjoy it. I didn’t want to rely on caffeine to fire me up.
As I was about to embark on a mental grumble I suddenly remembered another birthday. Three years ago. A birthday where I’d put a brave face on. A birthday where I smiled through the day with my heart full of fear. Feeling the movements of my first baby inside me. Not knowing if I would get to hold her living, breathing form in my arms. We’d discovered just a few days earlier that she had a severe heart defect and the odds of her survival were low.
In the early morning light, I cuddle that child closer to me and thank God fervently for the broken nights. These broken nights mean I am blessed. Blessed with my miracle girl and her heart-healthy sister. I know too many mums with empty arms. Our own future is, and will always be, uncertain. I snuggle closer to my sleeping toddler, listen to my baby breathing softly as she settles back to sleep and realise how truly blessed I am for this beautiful moment. It really is the best birthday present I could ever have.
I’m so glad you have your little ones to spent time with and that you were able to turn an interrupted night into something positive by enjoying your toddler. #theprompt
Thank you – and we had a lovely day despite the lack of sleep!
What a beautiful post, such a good reminder to us all to not take any of these moments for granted, even the more frustrating ones. Thank you so much for linking to #ThePrompt I’m looking forward to getting to know your blog better x
Thank you – hoping to continue to join in with #ThePrompt – love having a trigger to help focus my writing x
Ah, yes always good to focus on the positives but I really feel for you – this phase of sleep deprivation makes it really difficult not to succumb to the negative sometimes. I like to repeat the mantra ‘the days are long but the years are short’ when I start feeling overwhelmed and it always brings me back into the moment. X #ThePrompt
Thank you – it is hard to stay positive when sleep deprived – thankfully had a much better night the next night. Amazing what a difference a little more sleep can make.
Such a heartfelt and moving post. And so true. All those sleepless nights are so worth it in the end #theprompt
Thank you – definitely all worth it!
This is such a beautiful post because it puts all our grumbles into perspective. Yes we’re tired, yes we’ve got dark eye circles and eat nothing but leftovers, but having the with us, having them in our lives is so very enriching. I hope you had a lovely birthday and managed to snatch a few hours sleep x #theprompt
Thank you – yes I did have a lovely birthday and have managed to have a few better nights since as well!