Since becoming a parent, one of my main obsessions, like most mothers of small children, has been sleep. When I'm not sleeping I'm counting how many sleep hours I had, I'm tallying my children's sleep hours; and using a system approaching advanced calculus, I am plotting out nap times and the amount of nap time permitted before bedtime interference becomes an issue (small children bedtime is sacred). Then, when small children are tucked away in dreamland I play mind games with myself. This seems to be worse when Mike has a late school meeting or basketball practice - 'Haley, go to bed.' 'Haley, if you go to bed now you will have X hours before you need to feed baby, and X hours before the first small child climbs into your bed.'* Of course, then the quiet house, my book, my chocolate stash, and my couch all become that much cozier and I wait another 15 minutes until I repeat the same conversation. Repeat. Every day.I've also got into the nasty habit of mentally scoffing at those 'without-small-children' when they even mention that they're tired. Now, I know that many people have difficult sleep issues to deal with, including insomnia, shift-work, or teenagers with drivers licenses. I realize that I chose to become a mom, and that I chose to have subsequent children. That said, I didn't quite know what I was getting into in the sleep department. I remember a friend of ours in Calgary (who did have small children) chuckling at something to that effect when he heard that we were expecting Finn; Mike and I didn't get it. It wasn't until a year and a half later - during a 3am 'toddler-got-the-flu-and puked-all-over-his-crib, and now puked-all-over-mom-and-dad's-bed' kind of night that I got the joke. Definitely on me. The good news is that one day my children will have children. And then they'll thank me.
Here it is, my official thank you- Mom thanks for your sleepness nights 32 years ago.
* Note to concerned readers:
I don't actually talk to myself in the first person, this is purely for blogging purposes. Though if you are worried about me, and think it might help, please come and look after my children for a few hours. So I can sleep.
I talk to myself in the first person! Maybe it's good I don't have a good book on me right now, I'd be up too late too. I don't have a newborn right now but I do have two sick kids. Appreciating all the sleep now as I'll be back to square one soon enough!
ReplyDeleteOh Haley, I do this ALL the time. And I only currently have one child. I tally his sleep, naps, my sleep, my lack of sleep, my night wakings to pee to the point of obsession. Marc thinks I am crazy, I will reference this post in future conversations to prove my point that I am actually not. ;) And for some strange reason, I also stay up later when Marc is working.
ReplyDeleteOh how I can relate. If there was one thing I could choose to change about my life right now, it would be to get more sleep. When we were childless, my with-children friends used to scoff at me. If you told me 10 years ago how little sleep I'd be functioning on daily, on top of dealing with 3 demanding children, I'd have laughed in your face...and yet I stay up till midnight reading blogs...
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