The Sleep Subject

After hearing how old Madeline is, soooo many people laugh and say – I remember when my kids were that young - you must not be getting much sleep! Well… depending on who it is, I respond one of two ways.

If I don’t know the person very well or if I know they had a hard time with their own child, I’ll say – Yeah, haha no sleep, it’s awful, and then I change the subject.

OR, I tell them the truth, which is that Madeline sleeps about 9-10 hours a night, and she has been sleeping that much since she was 8 weeks old. The thing is, sometimes I feel like I’m bragging when I tell people she sleeps that much. Madeline isn’t by any means a difficult baby, but sleeping through the night isn’t something that just happened naturally for her… I really worked hard to get Madeline on a schedule that works for our little family. For those first few weeks, from lack of sleep and haywire hormones, I was a crazy zombie – well, a love-struck zombie. There were several times when Jake would wake up and see me nursing Madeline, and I’d be a sobbing mess. I was still in pain from labor, completely exhausted, and the day hadn’t even started yet. I hardly slept, but the deep, blinding love and commitment I have for my sweet girl and the support from Daddy Jake and other family members got me through those difficult days. And I also need to give credit to Baby Wise and Happiest Baby on the Block – those books have some amazing and priceless advice for parents.



So, last night Madeline did something a little different. At 4AM, I heard her wimpering and saw her on the monitor flailing her arms. She somehow escaped her swaddle and woke herself up. Usually if this happens, I just reswaddle her, put her paci in her mouth, and she falls back asleep in about 10 seconds. Well, last night she spit out her paci and LAUGHED at me. She was wide awake, just giggling and smiling that big gummy grin. I was still in sleepy zombie mode, but I hate missing out on any sweet times with her. I scooped her out of her crib and snuggled her up in my arms and brought Madeline in our room until she drifted off again, and then I fell asleep too.

Anyway, I guess my point is, it wasn’t easy, but Madeline sleeps through the night. Ha! BUT, if she does wake up in the middle of the night once in a while, that is fine by me! After working full time and being away from her from 8am until 6pm, I completely welcome any extra time, even at 4AM in the morning.