I used to be that girl who fell asleep at parties at 10 p.m. if I was tired and then go home and get another 8 hours. I’m sure Peter found it pretty embarrassing, but his lame party habit is to find the nearest computer and start tinkering, so I guess it could be worse. And, wow, based on these descriptions I don’t know how we weren’t invited to EVERY PARTY IN DENVER. I digress.
Sadly, since I had a baby I’ve developed some kind of mommy insomnia. Yes, I can still fall asleep early, but I wake up at midnight. Every. Night. E has been kind of a killer sleeper lately, going down at around 9 p.m. and staying asleep until 2 a.m., and sometimes even 4:30 a.m. (whoa). It’s like a parent’s dream.
Sleeping baby gets the whole couch. And the remotes. Thankfully, he left it on the U.S. Open quarterfinal. So thoughtful.
But not for me, apparently. My night goes like this. Tiny sound? Wake up. Not a tiny sound? Wake up. Twinge of pain in my overly full boob? Wake up. Dream about E, Peter and I living in a post apocalyptic version of America and trying to find diapers in a zombie infested grocery store? Wake up. And then it’s over. I can’t fall asleep again until the baby wakes up and gets fed. Then, after that, it takes me at least an hour to doze off, if I do at all. And don’t even get me started on my ability to “sleep when the baby sleeps” during the day*. It’s a cruel reality I live in, y’all.
I don’t know, maybe my body has just conditioned itself to live off of 5 hours of sleep and has decided I don’t need anymore than that because it’s greedy or something. Or maybe I’m turning into my mother, who for years has only been able to sleep 3 or 4 hours a night. Please say it isn’t so.
I guess the point of this sleep deprived ramble is to ask a question. How do you out there get yourself to fall asleep? Count sheep? Enya? I need to know your secrets.
Love,
Tara (mommy insomnia) Hubner
*I could write a whole separate blog post on how much I hate when people say, “oh, just sleep when the baby sleeps.” It was one of the horrible things I’d repeat in my head during the first month that kept me awake, filled with anxiety. That and the Trace Adkins jam, “You’re Going to Miss This.” What an asshole.
But, it seriously doesn’t work like that. At least for me. I applaud those for whom it does work. Good on ya.
Yup Enya works for me 🙂 I am not ashamed!!
Is E sleeping in his room or yours? I was the exact same way until we moved Ethan into his own room. Once he was out of my room, and I wasn’t hearing every single little sniffle, snort, snore, cough, sneeze, squeak and squirm, I’ve been sleeping like a baby.
In his own room! Ugh. I mean, it is right next door and our house is old with poor insulation, so I still hear things. Or at least think I do. Boo.
try watching educational videos until you pass out 🙂 seriously
After three kids, and multiple asleep configurations, I would actually say that cosleeping has helped my sleep. An arms reach cosleeper is a great, safe choice. It is like my brain can turn itself off knowing that baby is safe and near me. Bonus: night time nursing is a breeze. Learn to do the “side lying nursing” position, then after baby falls asleep, slide him back over to his “bed”.
I didn’t have this issue… Ari woke up every 1-3hours for 4.5 months! So maybe I would have given the chance :).
Wish I had some helpful advice, but for me, with the first, co-sleeping was the only way I got any sleep because I was so irrationally paranoid about my baby being abducted from her bedroom in the middle of the night. With our Elliot, now that Cora has been sleeping safely upstairs by herself for 9 months, I feel a lot less of that irrational paranoia. At a certain point, you just get accustomed to operating on a lot less sleep (probably not what you wanted to hear!). For example, I used to be one of those people who just could not keep my eyes open while driving on the highway, even as a passenger; now I’m completely incapable of sleeping in the car. It does make for a convenient excuse when I screw something up/forget something semi-important: “I’m so sorry. I haven’t slept in 3 1/2 years.”
I literally have not slept in 17 years!! from as soon as I knew I was pregnant. From fussy babies and one that just hated to sleep to now waiting up for a 16 yr old teen driver to get home, because who can sleep when every siren you hear you think of your child. life is never the same but it is also the best life ever