Sleep?!

Though it may not be any time soon, one day I will be getting a full night's sleep again, so I thought I should write about this time just in case I forget what it is like to be chronically sleep deprived (not likely). As my labor story reported, I labored through the night. That's where it all began... Of course, once the little man arrived, I was too excited and hopped up on adrenaline to even think about sleeping. It wasn't until Sunday night when all the visitors left, the adrenaline wore off, and Zayd began screaming that I realized sleep had become a thing of the past and arguably two precious nights too soon. The first week home from the hospital, I'm quite sure I didn't sleep more than an hour at a time, and I never slept during the day. Everyone tells you to sleep when the baby sleeps, which sounds great in theory, but I have a baby that only sleeps half and hour here an hour there, and he has to be bounced or held in order to even do that, not exactly the recipe for a good nap.

I used to sleep a lot, even before I got pregnant. I took for granted the ability to doze off any time I wanted and to go to bed early, something I never seemed to do even though I could. Now, if I get 5 hours in a row, I celebrate! An on that note, the other night Zayd slept for 5 hours straight in his crib in his room. I couldn't even enjoy it because I kept waking up and saying it's been 3 hours, it's been 4 hours, oh my God it's been 5 hours. At which point, I got up and did the requisite check to make sure he's still breathing thing. Then, he woke up. But, I fed him, changed him, and put him right back down for another 3 hours. This happened 2 nights in a row! Once again, I have to give Nick credit for this new pattern. The night of the first day I went back to work, I was so tired, I could barely walk. Zayd woke up to eat, and I could not even lay down to nurse him. I went to the bed, and the next thing I knew it was 1 a.m. and Zayd was asleep in his room (he had been sleeping with us) and Nick was asleep on the floor next to him. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I was just so happy to have gotten some rest and to see that Zayd was sleeping alone! So, that broke us of our habit and started him sleeping in his room and for longer stretches! Thank God! Let's see if it continues...

I used to dread nighttime. I knew I was going to be so sleepy, he was going to wake up non-stop, and there was just nothing good about it. Now, I don't dread it at all because I know the night is still when he sleeps for the longest amount of time with no stimulation and it's all very manageable. I say that's progress.