a middle of the night [moment]

[moment 14]

I don't know of any parent who hasn't had a middle of the night moment with their child. From the day they're born, we are up with our kids in the middle of the night to calm and comfort them in one way or another. 

I've had many such moments with my children, but one child in particular has probably accumulated more middle of the night mama time than all of my other children combined. They were a sleepwalker, which definitely led to some rude and sometimes creepy awakenings in the middle of the night. At one point in their preschool years, they would have existential crises in the wee hours of the morning, coming downstairs to ask me, at age four, if destiny and God's plan for us are the same thing and if there's any way to convince the powers that be that their ideas for their life are the right ones. 

The other night was a different kind of middle of the night moment. My child stumbled into my bedroom, blind, dizzy, and heart beating out of their chest. I had them sit down, hooked them up to a pulse oximeter and took their blood pressure. They regained their sight and, laying down, their heart slowed from 129 bpm to 82. They no longer felt like they were going to pass out. I monitored them for about an hour and then went to bed with them resting comfortably feet away from me. 

I was just about asleep when they got up to get a drink of water.

I woke up a million times in the following few hours - every single time they moved. 

These particular middle of the night moments may not be what I expected during those seemingly sleepless nights of early parenthood, but just as then, I am glad to do my best to provide care and comfort for my child.