Oh What a Night

Image by Maggie Smith

Oh what a night. Butterfly woke at about 11:00pm screaming her heart out, and by god do I mean screaming. None of the usual tricks worked, I sang, I danced, I stomped, I swooshed her around like a plane (this usually fixes everything and gets her to drop off to sleep. Strange one my little girl, traditional lullabies have never worked either, she likes fast paced, heavy beated songs as loud as you can go). Nada. In the end I kicked hubby onto the couch (he is a seriously heavy sleeper and I never feel safe with a little one in bed with us if he is there) and pulled the Butterfly into bed with me where she fed all night long. Even then she grizzled and whimpered in her sleep, little hands reaching out for me and patting me in her sleep.

I "woke" (I don't know about you but I can never sleep properly if I've got either the Bear or the Butterfly in bed with me, I'm so paranoid about them getting caught under the blankets or something I stay in that half awake state) to her little nose pressed against mine and her bright blue eyes peering intently at me. She was fine, no sign of the night's horrors. I however was shattered and have been all day. Hubby was lovely enough to look after both the kids and send me back to bed for a couple of hours but geez, it really pointed out how much I need my sleep.

BC (Before Children) I would be in bed, fast asleep, at about 8:30/9:00pm every night (unless I was out partying in which case I'd go hard all night long then sleep all the next day) and would get up at about 6:00am. I would then have a nanna nap for an hour or so in the early afternoon. I loooved my sleep. I needed my sleep! Then the Bear came along, and with it his inherent dislike of sleep, and all that went out the window. I learnt that if I need to, I can function on very little sleep. I'm grumpy, clumsy, emotional and generally narky, but I can survive.  Five hours worked out to be my magic number. If I could get five hours straight, I was a human the next day. I still craved more, would walk past my bedroom and cast longing looks at my bed, but at least I was moving.

As the Bear grew I started getting more sleep, then the Butterfly arrived and blessed us with her love of sleep. Seriously, this girl took after me from day one and slept perfectly for hours on end. By six weeks old she was sleeping through 10 hours a night. Apparently though, that's changed :( I don't know what has happened but she's waking a few times a night now, and once again I'm back in the land of glancing wistfully at my bed. I know she will grow out of whatever is currently causing her grief and all I can do is keep reassuring her that everything is ok when she wakes during the night (I just don't have it in me to do controlled crying. I figure if I woke up during the night, desperately unhappy, I sure as hell would want hubby to give me a hug and tell me it's ok. Surely then my children deserve the same?!) but ohhh...... I hope she goes back to her old ways soon.

So tell me your hints or tricks people out there in blog land - how do you survive on little sleep when sleeping during the day just isn't an option?

xo