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Midnight Nursings
Our Journey Toward Sleeping Through the Night By Jenn Director Knudsen
I no longer awake with a start when my baby girl cries out at 2 a.m. Now, my first thought is, "Please go back to sleep," instead of, "What's wrong?"
Though I have a hard time falling back to sleep once I'm up, I have an even harder time rousing once in a deep slumber. So when Alyssa is up and hungry or just in need of the comfort of nursing to return to baby dreamland, my first thought is "Aw heck," followed by "Why me?" Once I resolve to claw my way out of bed, grope for my glasses, bathrobe and glass of water and shuffle down the hall to her bedroom, the upset begins to dissipate. At this moment, all I want is to give my daughter the comfort she's crying out for.
Peeking over the edge of her crib and watching her calm down once she makes eye contact is very powerful. Picking her up and having her burrow her body against my chest empties my mind of all frustration and my body of all tension.
And since I don't turn on a light at 2 a.m. to read an activity I do while nursing Alyssa during the day I either lean my head back in mock snoozing, or I gaze down at her as she eats and begins physically relaxing, preparing herself for another few hours (I hope) of sleep.
Alyssa is heading toward 6 months of age and has slept through the night eight times. But who's counting?
I am a stay-at-home mom and so don't need to be in tip-top shape at the office; I can spare a little sleep deprivation. Yet at this point my husband and I agree it's time both of us got more sleep, and we believe Alyssa would benefit, too, from less interrupted nighttime sleep.