Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Hiccups in the Night

I awoke with a pressure on my belly.

A small jolting at regular intervals.

I looked down to see my 3 year old's head laying comfortably on my stomach.  Not an uncommon position for him.

I reached down to gently pull him up and laid his head down on the the pillow beside me.

He was sleepy but awake.

And he had the hiccups.

I turned to my side, lifted the book that always covers the green shining numbers of my bed side alarm clock.

3:24 am.

Who gets hiccups at 3:30 am??!!  

At once, full of nostalgia, as I turned back to stare at his sweet face in the dark of the night, I remembered how often he had the hiccups when he was growing in this belly of mine that he loves to rest his head on.  He usually got them in the middle of the night...keeping me awake.

Not unlike tonight.

I laid there beside him.  Quiet.  So quiet.  I purposefully hid my head behind the puffiness of the pillows that divided our faces.

And then I popped up.

"Boo!"

This is what we do to hiccups.

We scare them away.

He smiled.  Serenely.

And then.

*hiccup*

It didn't work.

Bah!

I laid back down in the same position.

Not undefeated.

I became silent once more, holding my breath, hoping unrealistically, to take away the hiccups for him.

I mean, really...how annoying are hiccups to begin with?  And how much more distracting at 3:30 am when you're trying to sleep?

I sat up suddenly, figuring maybe if I gently grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "BOO!" a little louder it would make his disturbance of the diaphragm take a hike.

I waited.  He still hadn't said a word, but laid there, eyes now wide open.

*hiccup*

Darn it!

"Do you want some water honey?"

"Mm-hm."

I retrieve a cup of water for him from all
                                                                 the
                                                                       way
                                                                                down
                                                                                           in
                                                                                                  the
                                                                                                          kitchen....

He takes the teeniest of sips and hands it back to me.

I place it on the nightstand.

Lay back down beside him.

And.

I wait...

*hiccup*

Then my husband speaks up.

I was wondering when he would.

"Honey, just take him back to his room.  I have to get up at 5:30."

Now why didn't I think of that?

I carried my boy into his bed, pulling up his covers around him, surrounding him with his favourite blankets and stuffed animals.

Knowing well what was coming next.

"You lay beside me Mumma?" he asks in his adorably sleepy voice.

I get under the covers and curl up beside him, rubbing his back.

*hiccup*

I decided to go for it one more time.

But a little louder.

I sat up abruptly looking down at him and whisper-shout,

"BOO!"

He giggles quietly.

I wait.

And wait.

And...wait.

Gone.

My work there was done.

But still I remained...continuing to rub his back the scent of his freshly shampooed curls in my nose.

I was just where I wanted to be.

21 comments:

a runner said...

Awwww...so super, super sweet :) My babies always woke me with hiccups, too. And I also need to cover the illuminated numbers on the clock with a book! I wish that scaring technique was more reliable :P I also try tickling when a good "boo" fails ... the breathlessness that accompanies the tickling sometimes is just the ticket :)

Jenny Leigh said...

So heartwarming :) I try to really take in those moments. As my kids get older it seems like they don't come along as often.

Alison said...

Such a lovely little moment. I love how you just enjoyed it, and not wished you weren't awake at that ungodly hour. Moms are the best.

The Woven Moments said...

So very sweet. Those little vignettes, those little moments, are the ones I hang on to, particularly when the whining and complaining starts.

Well done, mama!

Anonymous said...

That's sweet. My wife does the sleeping in bed thing with our 7-year-old still (though no where near as frequently as when he was a toddler) and sometimes the 13-year-old still needs mommy's touch to help him sleep.

These moments will continue as they become less frequent and you will cherish each more than the last.

Lisa said...

I always crawl into bed with PJ when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He'll rub my arm until we are both asleep. I love it so much.

Andrea @ The Penny-Roach's said...

This is beautiful! Such a sweet moment :)

Jackie said...

It's those moments that stay with us. Thanks for sharing and I too am a fan of the scaring the hiccups out!

Ado said...

Oh that is such a sweet potrait of motherhood in your house! Lucky little hicuppy kid to have you there saying BOO! (-:

Lori Lyons said...

Love this... I take every chance to snuggle I can get. Soon, my 10 year-old is going to outgrow me.

Sara @ Our Life Blog said...

oh my goodness, that is sooo sweet!!! love it!

Kindred Adventures said...

Beautiful. I love the structure you used to write this. Each line gave the piece pace and emotion. What a sweet moment even if it was 3:30am. What a beautiful mommy story! LV visiting from LoveLinks

Shannon from mynewfavoriteday said...

All of this is lovely! Pretty much what everyone said. I feel like I am in bed with you, your husband and you mini, which is a bit strange but I can smell the hair, and the sweet hiccups and the head on your shoulder. My 2 year old does the same and it's such a gift...it's all about the moments:)

kimberly said...

This is written so well. You'll be grateful you've captured this moment...some like these are too easily forgotten. Thanks for sharing it with your readers.

Ali said...

Awwwwwwwwwwww. You sound like the best momma ever and that moment sounds just divine. Precious, aren't they, our little ones? I wish I could remember that when I get woken up in the middle of the night! x

Jennifer Hall said...

So sweet! I need to capture more moments like that. Would help if my brain would remind me to!

Unknown said...

So, so, sweet!! And so well written, I really enjoyed reading it.

Miss Marina Star said...

I love this! You have a wonderful way of writing about small moments so that people who've never experienced them can understand how big they really are.

It may comfort you to know that my baby boy is 8 and still wants me to snuggle with him at night. Raise your mama's boy with pride!

January Dawn said...

Thank you to EVERYONE that came by and left such wonderful words about this post. It's all about the little moments that make up the greatness of life. And I try to appreciate them all.

January Dawn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ado said...

Congrats January on your 3rd place win this week! Aren't you so glad you linked up to LL? I am! (-: Does Erica have a badge for "I placed in the Top 5 this week at LL?" I wonder if she does - if she does you should grab it. If she doesn't let's see if she'll make one. (-: