I’m a Pepper Achiever
My life outside of work and parenting has ground to a halt over the past month. We thought we had put Eidan’s sleeping problems behind us, but now he’s gone back to getting up 6 or 7 times every night. I haven’t had more than a few hours of sleep per night for weeks now. Jen has moved in already (she’ll be renting our house while we’re away in Japan) and Maria’s mother is visiting, so all our beds are full and there’s currently nowhere in the house to escape for a quiet place to sleep (although I’ve become desperate enough to seriously start considering the basement…). In order to get through the day - especially the days when I have Japanese class after work - I’ve been doing something I’ve never done before: using stimulants. I’ve limited myself to the most popular, legal option however: caffeine. I hate coffee, and I hate Coke, so Dr. Pepper is my new drink of choice. I’m using it only in moderation though. Unlike the many people who can’t even start the day without coffee, I haven’t developed any tolerance for caffeine, and it sends me for one hell of a loop if I have too much.
My situation made me think of the old “I’m a Pepper” and “Coffee Achiever” ads of my youth. As yet more proof that you can find absolutely anything on the web, here’s the Dr. Pepper ad and here’s the Coffee Achiever ad. I had forgotten about how star-studded the coffee ad was. I also came across this interesting tidbit about the guy on the Taster’s Choice jars - apparently Nestle used his image without permission and never told him his picture was on label (once he found out he won a $15.6 million lawsuit against them). At this point I should point out that when I’m sleep deprived and on caffeine, I really tend to ramble….
Eidan was due for shots, so Maria took him to the pediatrician a couple days ago. She asked about his frequent wake-ups, and the doc said we simply have a hyper-alert, very active little boy, and that the 14-16 month old period is a time of major brain development (walking, acquiring language, etc), which often results in sleep disruption.
Eidan really has become incredibly active over the past month. He wants to be outside all the time. When I take him downstairs at 7am, he goes right for the door, yelping at me and trying to pry it open with his little fingers. He’s particularly fascinated with kicking and throwing balls. He kicks and runs with the ball really well - like a little soccer player. He fell down a lot teaching himself how to do it, but he was determined. Actually, the ball is big enough compared to him that he often would end up rolling himself right over the top of it - it was quite something to see ;-).
He also said his first word a few days ago: “no.” He probably hears it more than anything else, so he definitely knows what it means. He was pulling CDs out of my CD drawer and dropping them on the floor, and Maria told him “no.” He then grabbed another CD, held it up, said “no” with a little smile on his face, and dropped it on the floor. And he did that a few more times until Maria got over to him to stop him.
He’s damn lucky he’s so cute.
Update: We’ve made some progress with Eidan’s sleep situation over the past couple of nights - we’ve got him down to 3 wake-ups now. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come!
