Tummy time for Mom

I hate to jinx it, but Deirdre is on the greatest sleeping streak of all time. She's going to bed between 8-9pm and waking up sometime around 9am. Yesterday - 9:23am! What mother wouldn't love to saunter into her baby's bedroom after a full night's sleep, and see this shining face staring back?

Yes, her current sleeping patterns (12-13 hours at night) plus two solid (read: long) naps during the day get the thumbs up from her mom and dad. Plus the fact that I'm now sleeping on my stomach (after 9 months of being pregnant and almost 7 months of nursing), I have absolutely no excuse for not getting a good night's sleep. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to make my 11pm bedtime and leave my to-do list's alone. Ahh, the perils of being a list maker...

Even with Deirdre being a sleepy weepy girlie whirley bear (or what have you), I find that I still have to manage my time and my expectations. Here's what typically happens: She goes down for her afternoon, 3 hour (cross your fingers) nap at say, 3pm. I think, "Oh, fabulous. I'll just check my email before I take my nap." Then I think, "Great. I still have 2 1/2 hours before she wakes up. Maybe I'll do 'X'". And then "X" becomes "X,Y and Z." Before I know it, I have less than an hour and a half until she wakes up, and that's if I'm lucky! So, 1) I have to learn to take my nap first. Maybe my nap should be the "X" on my to do list.

Second - here's what typically happens when I DO lie down to nap. I think, "Fabulous. I have an hour and a half until she wakes up. Please let her sleep for an hour and a half. I need just an hour and a half." And then, when she wakes up 15, 30, or 45 minutes early, I'm bummed - and I feel cheated. What I need to do (in addition to item #1 mentioned above, of course), is 2) manage my expectations and think small. She's taking baby steps, so why shouldn't I? Instead of thinking in this all-or-nothing hour and a half increment - I should ask for 15 minutes to begin with. Just let her sleep for 15 minutes while I lie here and rejuvenate. And then once that increment of time goes by, think, "I would love another 15 minutes...and so on." That way, I won't be disappointed when I fall off to sleep and wake up, say, 45 minutes later because she's awake. Odds are I can get a good amount of sleep, and I truly believe that my body rises to the occasion and says, "Alright - it's time to power nap, because we may only have 15 minutes." It works, which is pretty amazing.

So here's to learning to manage myself - my time and my expectations - effectively so that I keep up my strength, stamina, and health for that little lady of mine. Here's what Deirdre looks like when she doesn't get her nap, so you can imagine what I look like when I don't get mine!