A sleep theory
Yesterday was a bad, bad day for Dad and I. We had just about had it with the new Isaac sleep schedule:
Down at 7:30 pm
Up at 11 or 11:30 pm, fall asleep nursing
Up at 2:30 am, fall asleep nursing
Up at 3 or 3:30 am with a poo diaper/full pee diaper/random indeterminate source of discomfort, rock or pat back to sleep
Up at 5:45 am, usually up for good, but occasionally fall asleep nursing, waking up at 7:00
Whatever happened to our good little monster who only got up once a night? Dad was freaking out because he has to get sleep to finish his dissertation; I am freaking out because Dad is freaking out and asking me to do impossible things like start sleeping with the baby again. Dad's eventual solution to the problem was to impose a 9:30 bedtime for the grownups, which I stuck to last night. At 11:30, Isaac woke up. Dad, still awake, went to take care of him, but in the end we found out he wanted a boobie. He fell asleep nursing. I came back to our bedroom and Dad is so excited -- evidently tonight will be the night that Isaac will sleep like a champ! Dad can just feel it! I roll my eyes and throw him a "whatever" -- *I* know that my baby will be up again at 2:30. You can therefore imagine my panic when I awoke at 4:00 and no sounds were emanating from the monitor. "My darling baby is dead," I think. "I should go check on him," I think. And then I think the better. If my baby is asleep, and I go in and have a peek to reassure myself as such, he will smell me and wake up. Morbidly I also think, "If he really is dead, what can I do about it?" Sick, yes, but again, this is 4:00 in the morning. Eventually I go back to sleep, and Isaac, true to form, wakes up at 5:45. I go in and nurse him and he cuts himself off and starts softly babbling to me, oddly, with his eyes still shut. "Maybe I can get him to go back to sleep for a bit," thinks I. And I put him in his crib and pat his back a bit and indeed, off he goes. I sneak back in bed until 7 and am awakened by my alarm clock. Dad and I go downstairs and grind the morning coffee, but still no Isaac. I start the shower going -- still no Isaac. Dad eventually wakes him up during my shower and dresses him for daycare. It was a lovely morning.
Later, I had a thought. My baby used to "sleep through the night" quite well, meaning he woke up maybe once instead of 3 or 4 times. Then I thought, yesterday I had no caffeine except for two cups of 2/3 decaf coffee in the early morning and a sip or two of Dad's Coke from Wendy's. Usually I have a big cup of fully caffed-up coffee at work in the a.m. and a Big Gulp Dr. Pepper in the p.m. Here comes my genius thought -- maybe he slept last night because he wasn't chock-full of caffeine from the boobie. So let's experiment. Unfortunately, today was a "usually" day, so if he doesn't sleep well, then we have 2 out of 2 days conforming to my theory. Tomorrow morning I will desperately try to stay awake without much coffee, I will abstain from the Dr. P in the evening, and we will test my theory again tomorrow night.
Down at 7:30 pm
Up at 11 or 11:30 pm, fall asleep nursing
Up at 2:30 am, fall asleep nursing
Up at 3 or 3:30 am with a poo diaper/full pee diaper/random indeterminate source of discomfort, rock or pat back to sleep
Up at 5:45 am, usually up for good, but occasionally fall asleep nursing, waking up at 7:00
Whatever happened to our good little monster who only got up once a night? Dad was freaking out because he has to get sleep to finish his dissertation; I am freaking out because Dad is freaking out and asking me to do impossible things like start sleeping with the baby again. Dad's eventual solution to the problem was to impose a 9:30 bedtime for the grownups, which I stuck to last night. At 11:30, Isaac woke up. Dad, still awake, went to take care of him, but in the end we found out he wanted a boobie. He fell asleep nursing. I came back to our bedroom and Dad is so excited -- evidently tonight will be the night that Isaac will sleep like a champ! Dad can just feel it! I roll my eyes and throw him a "whatever" -- *I* know that my baby will be up again at 2:30. You can therefore imagine my panic when I awoke at 4:00 and no sounds were emanating from the monitor. "My darling baby is dead," I think. "I should go check on him," I think. And then I think the better. If my baby is asleep, and I go in and have a peek to reassure myself as such, he will smell me and wake up. Morbidly I also think, "If he really is dead, what can I do about it?" Sick, yes, but again, this is 4:00 in the morning. Eventually I go back to sleep, and Isaac, true to form, wakes up at 5:45. I go in and nurse him and he cuts himself off and starts softly babbling to me, oddly, with his eyes still shut. "Maybe I can get him to go back to sleep for a bit," thinks I. And I put him in his crib and pat his back a bit and indeed, off he goes. I sneak back in bed until 7 and am awakened by my alarm clock. Dad and I go downstairs and grind the morning coffee, but still no Isaac. I start the shower going -- still no Isaac. Dad eventually wakes him up during my shower and dresses him for daycare. It was a lovely morning.
Later, I had a thought. My baby used to "sleep through the night" quite well, meaning he woke up maybe once instead of 3 or 4 times. Then I thought, yesterday I had no caffeine except for two cups of 2/3 decaf coffee in the early morning and a sip or two of Dad's Coke from Wendy's. Usually I have a big cup of fully caffed-up coffee at work in the a.m. and a Big Gulp Dr. Pepper in the p.m. Here comes my genius thought -- maybe he slept last night because he wasn't chock-full of caffeine from the boobie. So let's experiment. Unfortunately, today was a "usually" day, so if he doesn't sleep well, then we have 2 out of 2 days conforming to my theory. Tomorrow morning I will desperately try to stay awake without much coffee, I will abstain from the Dr. P in the evening, and we will test my theory again tomorrow night.
posted by Claire at 7:58 PM
2 Comments:
Done in by Dr. P? The horror. Actually, it makes me happy to know that you're still addicted to the stuff. All you need now are some donut sticks from the Pike High School vending machine and you have the best. Snack. Ever.
Dana
Dana -- actually, that is my "snack" -- substitute donut stick with Little Debbie Fudge Brownie, which, along with Big Gulp Dr. P, can be had at the local 7-11.
Follow-up on the sleep theory: yesterday, after having a big cup of joe in the a.m., a glass of tea in the afternoon, and 2/3 of a Big Gulp Dr. P, Isaac woke up at 11:30, 2:30 and then for good at 5:45. Theory stands.
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