A Narrative About Sleep

The following is a narrative I wrote about Wednesday night. I didn't get a chance to post it yesterday, so it's a day late. However, since I know most people come to this blog to see baby pictures, I decided to go ahead and put a totally unrelated picture up. This is Kathryn after her bath, with what her 5-year-old Uncle Nick likes to call "cwazy hair!" Enjoy this little peak into my night-time life!

You know the saying, "You don't know what you got till it's gone"? (I believe it's also a song.) Well, every parent can think of at least a dozen things that can refer to once they enter the amazing journey of parenthood. And I think all would agree that SLEEP would be at the top of that list. Therefore, every parent can attest to remembering how excited they got with every step forward toward more sleep. Well, last night [Wednesday night], I am happy and excited to report that Kathryn was 10 minutes shy of sleeping for 6 straight hours! Here's how it went:

I've been trying to kind of keep a more consistent night-time schedule the past week or so, and feed her around 8-8:30 and then again around 10-10:30 to tank her up. She's been doing pretty well with that, but still waking up 3-4 hours later to eat again (she's an eating machine!). But last night, after feeding her at 10:30, she didn't wake up again until 4:00! When she did wake at 4, I could tell her long, whining cries meant she was not fully awake yet. So I went into her room and just gave her her paci, then left. Then I began what I'm sure every parent can remember.

I stood outside her room, peering at her through the crack in her door, afraid to breathe lest it somehow wake her, literally holding my breath as I watched her body relax and herh arms lower toward the crib matress. (How is it that they can be asleep, but as soon as their arms make it 1/16 of an inch from the matress, they startle and wake themselves up again? There must be some scientific explanation for this cruel occurrence.) So, as I stood there peering and holding my breath, I silently cheered as her little arms slowly drooped and made it safely to their resting place without waking her. Then I started that long, tiptoeing trek back to my room. I made it back to my doorway, to the point of the dreaded creak-in-the-floor. Oh, that awful creak. I cringed as I stepped across it, knowing the impending creak was about to sound. ANd as it inevitable did, it happened...the startle and groan coming from the once-sleeping baby in the nursery. Freeze. Will she wake herself up or drift back off? (How is it that the creaks-in-the-floor are so deftly placed? What a cruel joke to be at the threshold of your bedroom door, about to pass through to your bed and to blissful sleep, when creeeeaaaaakk.......freeze......"Waaaahhhhhh"......heavy sigh.....back to the nursery.) However, after a few seconds of once again holding-my-breath eternity, I sigh as there is only blessed silence coming from her direction. I escaped the creak.

I then crawled back into bed to await what would happen next. Will she wake up again in a few minutes, meaning she does need to be fed? Or will she miraculously go back to sleep and remain sleeping until 8:00, thereby forever crossing into the realm of Babies That Sleep Through the Night, never to go back to waking for a middle of the night feeding again?

By this time, I was so excited and geared up from the whole adventure that I couldn't get back to sleep. Amazing, isn't it? Anyway, the paci did hold her off for another 20 minutes or so, but she did end up waking back up to eat. But I do think we're on to something here. I can almost taste what sleeping through the night will be like, and soon I hope to let you know just how delicious it is!