Sleep

Sleep is one of the biggest adjustments of parenthood.  Or perhaps I should say, lack of sleep.

I can barely remember the days of getting up at 6am everyday to the sound of my buzzing alarm.  Rolling out of bed, thinking that I can't believe I have to wake up so early, and already excited about Saturday when I could wake up late. . . which for me was 8am. 

At the same time, I also feel far beyond the days of having a newborn, when I was grateful to get a 2-3 hour stretch of sleep.  A newborn who didn't know what a bedtime was, so perhaps wouldn't go down until 11pm. A newborn who drank breastmilk, albeit, not from the breast, so many of my nights were spent pumping and watching Three's Company while I fed TT.  Those days also seem like a distant memory. 

As a mother, it's amazing to me how quickly we can shift to this.  I used to get 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.  And if I received less than 8 at any given time, you did not want to interact with me the following day.  And after TT was born, I would sleep perhaps 4 hours a night, and yet was still able to function.  I didn't look real put together, but I functioned.

Now I have an almost 17 month old, and an almost 2 year old, and for the most part, sleep has gotten easier in our household.  We have a bedtime of around 7:30pm, and we can usually expect to sleep uninterrupted until 5am at the earliest.  I haven't set an alarm since TT was born.  My eyes literally pop open at 5am everyday, if not earlier.  I hope (and pray!) that I can get a shower in before the first child starts stirring.  Perhaps even get my makeup applied and my hair blown out.  And now that the kids to go to bed at a regular time each evening, I even get time with my husband to watch a movie, have a glass of wine (or 3), read a book, and just have some much needed me-time.  Life surrounding sleep has gotten so much easier, that when asked my thoughts on a 3rd child, I simply can't imagine ever going back to sleepless nights, even though sometimes a 3rd child does sound appealing.

And then something with sleep changes.  And I don't know what brings on this change.  Is it teething? Is it a growth spurt?  Something else?  TT has been a great sleeper for the past few months.  I sing to her, put her in a crib, tell her goodnight and that I love her, and she rolls over and passes out.  Or she sits and plays and plays in her crib for a few minutes, and then passes out. About 2 weeks ago, this all changed.  Now, she screams Mama when I try to walk out of the room, so now I rub her back for about 10 minutes until she is completely down, and then leave her room.  And then a few hours later, she cries, and then a few hours later, more crying.  We've tried moving back her bedtime (last night, she didn't go to bed until 8:30pm) and she still gets up early. She has been waking up 2-3 times a night, and still up at 5am and ready for the day. I'm hoping this is just a stage that she will quickly get out of, because I am officially tired.

As in, I have a newborn tired!

May TT start enjoying sleep again!