Night Pardy

I used to not be a "morning person" at all. Then I had a baby. Now, I'm not really a "daytime person". I'm doing better. Matilda is up to one 4 hour, sometimes 5 hour stretch in the night and then another 3 hour stretch after that. Yes, if you do the math, that is the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a real live working adult human being should be getting every night. Turns out though, if you break up that 8 hours in to two (or three or four) segments a night, then it doesn't quite count the same. I fear Matilda is taking after me, though. I don't even know the last time I slept entirely through the night. And I take after my mother who has the same problem. It's not like we don't want to sleep - trust me - but our brains just won't turn off.

I know what you're thinking - caffiene. Nope, I'm caffiene free. Exercise? Take Valerian root? I've tried it all, I think I'm just born that way. And that's fine, I'm not really out to find a remedy. And really Matilda is a good sleeper, she just wakes up to eat once (or twice) and then goes back down. I mean, if someone had a meal prepared for me in the middle of the night and I knew it was readily accessible if I would just wake up - I would probably wake up too.

"Yawn."

"Here's your blueberry waffles and fresh squeezed orange juice, madam, prepared bedside as you like it."

"Ah, thank you."

"Now, back to sleep."

Yes, I would probably get up for that. (Not that I'm preparing waffles for Matilda, but I imagine she doesn't know the difference at this point.)

What's bewildering about the mid-night feeding is that I totally don't mind it. Sure, occasionally I would like to take an ambien with a shot of nyquil and crash for about three days straight...but, I actually have been cherishing these little moments of (usually) quiet when my baby girl strictly needs me all to herself. She is usually in a bit of a daze, not sure of what comfort she seeks. She'll cling to me like a snuggly koala baby and fill her belly, then roll back, drunk on total contentment. I know that it won't last forever. Soon she will be sleeping through the night, and one day she'll be a little sleepaholic like her father and I'll have to drag her out of bed even if it's Christmas morning.

So, to all those bragging parents who flaunt their child's amazing narcoleptic schedule, "Oh, she's not sleeping through the night? Huh, yeah, my baby sleeps like 10 hours straight and then has three naps and I usually get so much done that I end up cooking and freezing extra meals for the week while I'm knitting sweaters for the homeless"...yeah, you know who you are - well, I see your extra time and raise you a snuggly moment. I wouldn't trade it for a wink.