Abraham, Rachel, Soren and Liam. Our life together in Smalltown, Idaho.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Sleep Deprivation


I thought it was funny that we were scheduling our new baby's arrival and so wrote it on the calendar. Abraham, seeing this, added the above commentary about life after a new baby comes home.

And wow, has it ever been true. Until a few days ago, I hadn't had anything longer than a 2 1/2 hour stretch of sleep since Liam was born.

When I'm extremely sleep-deprived, a weird thing happens to my brain: it starts counting. Sometimes by ones, sometimes by fives, but also by weird things like eights, eighteens, and twenty eights. When Soren was a newborn I counted by elevens a lot. I think this is my brain's last-ditch attempt at staying awake when I need to function, which is good, I suppose, except that it makes it difficult for me to fall asleep when I do get the chance.

I finally purchased "On Becoming Baby Wise" in a fit of desperation, read the entire thing in one evening, and began implementing its principles Thursday night. And you know what? We've been sleeping better. I kind of want to find the authors and give them medals. For the past three nights, Liam has slept for three-four hour long stretches, affording me the chance to participate in a full sleep cycle. It's been nothing short of miraculous.

P.S. If you are one of those people whose newborn slept through the night at two weeks old, I don't like you and don't think we should be friends anymore.
P.P.S. If you are a Dr. Searsian, don't judge me. Dr. Sears is a horrible misogynist pig and I wish he had never been born.
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3 comments:

Collette Smith said...

Rachel, I just wanted to say, in response to everything you've ever written on this blessed blog, that 1)you sure can turn a phrase, and 2)I find your sardonic wit deeply satisfying. I've enjoyed many a good belly laugh since becoming a follower of the Dazzling Duo.

Karen said...

Ha Ha that Abe and his crazy antics. I'm glad you've somehow managed to get some more sleep! Also, I second what Collette said :D

heidi said...

Rach, I just have to say, again, you make me feel so much better! I tap patterns with my fingers often, even when I'm not tired. And, when I am truly tired, my brain cells gang up on me and yell at me, making me feel guilty & bad for being worn out, not getting more sleep and rest, not making every moment perfect... Obviously other people do "crazy" things when they're tired and they're totally fine underneath. It's okay to get tired. Life is tiring, right? We do the best we can, and then, sometimes, a happy miracle like the "Baby Wise" book stumbles into our laps just when we need it most.

Also, I promise to burn any books of Dr.Sears' that I see.

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