Before 9 a.m.

One of the strangest things about my third trimester this time around has been my sleep patterns. For the first time in my life, I'm waking up around 6 a.m., and can't go back to sleep. Trust me, it's NOT that I'm not tired, or that I'm sleeping too much. It's just...I don't know. It's like my brain switches to the "ON" position and won't turn back off so I can go back to sleep.

This puts me in quite a predicament. It means I get up & start doing things around the house, and then am ready to crash by 9 a.m. Once Wendy wakes up at 6:30 or 7 a.m., she's raring to go, too, and she definitely keeps me busy.

Today, for example, she woke up at 6:30 a.m. Here's what she managed to do by 9 a.m.:

• Ate a banana while watching Curious George.
• Insisted she had to potty. Refused to perform. Threw a tantrum because Curious George was over.
• Ate some Mini-Wheats. Insisted she had to potty. Success.
• Got into a basket of supplies from when she was a newborn. Managed to string old Binkies, nasal aspirators, thermometers, baby hats, etc. all over her room.
• Found a Hello Kitty Band-Aid. Opened it. Couldn't find a suitable owie, so placed it directly over her belly button. (Which was pretty cute.)
• Demanded to wear princess tutu. Demanded to have princess tutu removed when it rubbed on the Band-Aid on her belly button.
• Asked me to remove the Band-Aid, then cried because it hurt.
• Found her container of earrings. Spilled entire container on our deep-pile, cut-loop carpet. Did not help Mama pick them up. (And in case you were wondering, 20 pairs of little stud earrings are hard to find once they get to the bottom of deep-pile, cut-loop carpet.)

Looking at that list, it's no wonder I was ready for a nap by 9 a.m.! I ended up confining her to her room & letting her watch her Wiggles playlist on YouTube, while I rested on the couch.

It's hard to take care of someone small, active, creative, and stubborn - especially when they have twice your energy!