Tent Night..... Or Other Kinda Night?

This all looks like fun don't it?  This of course was a "Daddy Idea"  The whole 9 yards.... fire in fireplace, pizza, Candyland, Memory, and watch a movie.  I added in the blow-up mattress of course, but the rest of it was all Daddy.  Carson loves to have nights likes these.  And I know when my time is up and "the boys" need to have some time!  I enjoyed most of the night with them and then half way through the movie I went to bed (whole bed by myself.... still feeling safe because husband is still in the house = super happy me)
But about 2 hours after they fell asleep, Carson wakes up CRYING.  I hear Jamie trying to calm him down, but he is NOT having it.  And then I hear "I want Mommy" so I come out. Through sobs he is trying to talk, but not much is coming out.  I figured he is just scared.  Don't know where he woke up and it is time to take him in the other room.  He agrees to lay in bed with me, and Jamie comes dragging behind.  But the crying does not stop... after a good hour and half, he is still crying and crying.  What is wrong?  He never acts like this... finally he tells me he is hungry.  Really kid?  I guess you would be, it is midnight and you have now been up for almost 2 hours! So I make a healthy midnight snack of chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges.  OK or maybe that is just what he eats All The Time... so why not at midnight?  He eats all the oranges and about 4 bites of nuggets and says "I'm done."  Come on now.... I got up and made you this plate of food, you are GOING to eat it!  But at this point, I'm scared that in about 10 minutes I might see it all again, so I don't force it on him.  Instead we lay on the love seat, him right on my chest, and he falls asleep.  At this point I have a revelation.... And I travel back 3 years to 2008.  This is how it used to be....
If you don't know... I had the hardest time getting Carson to sleep at night as a baby.  The first 6 weeks were horrible.  Didn't know what I was doing wrong!  We borrowed a bassinet from a friend and Jamie thought Carson could "smell the other kid"  I tried to explain that our child was not a dog, but what other reason did I have to say why he hated that thing!  I tried everything at night and finally by about 4am every morning I had enough and was totally drained and needed sleep and needed this newborn to sleep.  The only place I trusted myself was the love seat because I wouldn't be able to roll over on him and I was too scared to sleep on the big couch, thinking I would roll him right off me.  So I slept on the love seat so I would be "sitting" a little and he layed on my chest and we both slept for a few solid hours.  He was only 19 inches long and with those little feet curled up underneath him, made him so tiny on my chest!

Going back to the other night.... here I am with my 3 year old son and his head is as big as I remember his whole body used to be.  Where did the time go?  Now his feet where not tucked up under him, but spread all the way down to my shins!  I almost started to cry thinking about this! As I picked him up, to take him back into our bed, he started to wake up again.  I sat with him in bed and he says"Mommy, can I play with your hair?"  This is when I lost it... wow!
Again Carson started playing with my hair when he was about 9 months.  It all started because I was nursing him.  I remember it now.... but have to write it down, because I don't want to forget these memories!  Rocking him in the rocking chair upstairs at my Mom's house (Cause Jamie was in Japan so we were living with my Mom).  He would play with my hair when he was tired (which was every time I nursed him)  As he grew and I stopped nursing, he started playing with his own hair to go to sleep.  I made sure that when he got a hair cut that they didn't cut it too short so he could still play with it!  But he still prefers my hair and plays with it when he is tired or shy and he is in my lap or I'm holding him.  There was one time I posted a pic of the 3 of us and one of my friends pointed out "I love how he is playing with your hair"  It is sad to say, but sometimes I don't even notice it.  I need to take those times in so that when he does stop, I'm not wishing he didn't.  Because like everything... the time will pass and he will get bigger and stop!

So, of course I tell him, "Yes baby, you can play with my hair."  It didn't help much.  Carson was up almost every hour that night.  And woke up the next morning with a rash on his face and a slight fever.  Still have no idea what was going on with his body?  Allergic to something in tent?  No idea!  Lets just say this night was for me to reflect on my baby growing up :)

P.S. And for those who have made it to the end of this post and are wonder what helped Carson sleep better as a baby it was...... let him sleep on his tummy!!! Surprise Surprise!  Doctors say no no no, but that was how Jamie and I held him all the time.  On his tummy on our chest!  Guess he got used to it.  So we bought a motion monitor and put him straight in his crib!