Sleeping Through the Night

A couple of months ago, I was talking to a woman who had a two-month old (who was the same age as Abigail at that time). I asked her how she was coping with the sleep deprivation and she said "Oh, I think sleeping is overrated." I strongly disagree!

Anyone who has had a newborn is very familiar with the question that everybody asks "how is the baby sleeping?" Sometimes I feel like it is a reflection of your parenting skills. If you say the baby is not sleeping well, I believe some people think that the parents must not be doing something right. But, if you have ever had a baby that doesn't sleep well, you know you would try just about anything to remedy the situtation and that it really isn't "your fault."

There are the lucky few who can answer "our baby is sleeping through the night." Of course I always wonder what does "sleeping through night mean"? Does the baby go to sleep at 11:00 p.m. and sleep until 5:00 a.m.? Does the baby sleep for more than 4-5 hours at a stretch, which I think is what doctors consider "sleeping through the night." Depending on how old the baby is, those can all be good stretches.

Just last week, Abigail started sleeping through the night - really through the night - from about 7:30 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. I may have to get up and give her the paci ocassionally but she doesn't wake up to eat which is great. Grace was not a good sleeper and it took her a very long time to sleep through the night. So, Bruno and I can truly appreciate how lucky we are that our 4 month old sleeps so long and so well at night.

Now the problem is, I need to start sleeping through the night again. It started towards the end of the pregnancy when I was uncomfortable and waking up every time I turned in bed. Some say it's God's way of preparing you for those sleepless nights. Then, of course, with a newborn, I forgot that getting three hours of sleep at a stretch was "a good night"! But, now I am accustomed to waking up and find it hard to go back to sleep after I get up and give Abigail her paci. (Yes, Bruno takes his turn at getting up too but he is such a solid sleeper that I have to wake him up to tell him that Abigail needs her paci which then leaves me awake!)

So then I lay there and my mind starts "racing" (getting back to my race theme)! Bruno said he never understood what that meant and I think a lot of men don't. Yes, I am generalizing, but I think a lot of women can relate with the mind-racing problem at 2:00 a.m.

And now, Abigail has a cold so her cough and stuffy nose keeping waking her, and me, up. I feel so bad for her, being so little and having a cold. One of the pitfalls of daycare is getting exposed to all those nasty cold germs at such a young age.

So, today, after being up two nights in a row for a couple hours at a time, trying to comfort Abigail and then dealing with the "mind-racing" problem, I opted for the large diet coke this morning! And, I do not think sleep is overrated. In fact, I would love to crawl under my desk and take a nap right about now! (And if this posting is a little too much stream of consonsciousness for you, I blame it on my lack of sleep!)