Thankfully, they are rare for us. Brennan hasn't been a BAD sleeper, although he isn't an exceptionally good one either. Generally, he goes down around eight o'clock, sleeps a 4-6 hour chunk, nurses, and sleeps 2-hour chunks after that. I know eventually we're going to have to work on soothing him back to sleep without nursing between the 2-hour chunks, but as he's currently exclusively breastfed, I figure it's okay for now.
Last night was horrible, though. He only slept 3 hours, woke up around 11 cranky, and just would
not
go
back
to
sleep.
I am not a night owl by any means. I am a happy morning person, and I get grumpy at night time. Not to mention I had poor judgment last night and stayed up past MY regular bed time (10:00) catching up on a friend's blog. Wouldn't you know it? The night I decide to stay up, Brennan doesn't sleep.
I nursed, I bounced, I rocked, I hummed, I shushed. He would fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I lay him in his crib, he'd be wide awake again. It was horrible. I eventually got so grumpy about it all myself that I woke Nich up to take a turn. Eventually, we just ended up bringing Brennan to bed with us so Nich could get some rest. He woke up every hour, fussing, until I got out of bed at six. I went cold turkey on coffee when I got pregnant, but this was a desperate morning.
Sigh.
Reflecting on it, though, it's still all worth it. Brennan's such a good, happy baby for the most part, and he is my second favorite person in the world. I love him more than I ever imagined I could love a little person who does not yet know how to reciprocate. I said to a friend yesterday that I have never KNOWN with all my heart that I would choose to die for someone else until I had Brennan. It makes the love of Abba that much more real for me.
I love motherhood.
Even with the occasional sleepless nights.
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver
I do hope it wasn't my blog :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a theory that has yet to be proven false...the later I go to bed, the worse the kids sleep. I can't remember the last time I went to bed (at any hour) and didn't wake up till morning's light---there's always one or two that are dying of thirst, have an earache or cough, tangled sheets, growing pains, bad dreams, an itchy bug bite, etc. etc. I tell myself I'll catch up on my sleep in old age, when it's considered perfectly appropriate to nod off mid-sentence.