Oh, the joy of eight straight hours of sleep!

So, for the past two nights, my dear husband did something that was completely wonderful, he got up with Ryan the entire night and let me get eight straight hours of sleep. Actually, I think it ended up being nine straight hours of sleep both nights and all I can say is that I feel like a completely new person. Typically, we will split up the night and take turns taking care of Ryan. However, the last two nights, Dave went above and beyond and let me sleep, it was heaven! I don't know how he does it and for him to let me sleep a whole bunch has been completely wonderful, thanks honey, I love you!

Super Dad and Ryan...I don't know what I would do without Dave! :)

Now, what I've learned during Ryan’s first three weeks of life is that sleeping and taking care of a newborn do not go hand in hand. Like, not one bit, not at all and one piece of advice that I want to debunk in this post is that whole deal about you need to sleep when your baby sleeps stuff.  In the last two or so months, I think I’ve heard that comment from more than 20 people and guess what, it doesn’t work. I’ve tried on numerous occasions to sleep when Ryan sleeps and it has yet to stick. Why? There are a variety of reasons. One, I need to eat and when he’s asleep, it gives me a prime opportunity to do so. I mean come on, it’s not like I can make a sandwich with one hand while I’m holding him with the other. Thus, when he’s snoring away, I can head to the kitchen and get some fuel to keep going. My favorite foods to snack on are Golden Grahams, string cheese, carrots, and peanut butter and jelly. They are all really fast and easy to make. Oh, and I really enjoy being able to drink as much coffee as I want too! :) When I was pregnant, the caffeine intake had to be limited, yet now, I can go nuts if I feel like it!

Anyway, another reason why I can’t sleep when Ryan sleeps is I like to stay clean. When he’s awake, he needs my soul attention and that means, no taking my eyes off of him. Sure, it’s not like he’s running all over the place, but I can’t let him sit in his crib or in his swing for 20 or so minutes (Yes, I take long showers now because that’s my relaxation time) and expect him to stay happy and occupied. He needs to be watched when he’s awake, even when he’s in his crib or swing, so, the only time I have to shower is while he’s snoozing.  Even then, I have his monitor in the bathroom with me to make sure he’s okay and if he starts to cry or whatever, I cut the shower short. That’s only happened on one occasion, so, I’ve been lucky.

I also can’t sleep when he sleeps since things need to get done around the house. People always say, “Oh, just leave the housework and take care of yourself.” Well guess what, that’s definitely easier said than done due to the fact that if it doesn’t get done, then things get chaotic and extremely messy. For instance, as soon as Ryan goes to sleep the first thing I do is check to make sure he has enough formula to eat, if not, then that needs to be made and if his bottles are dirty, then those need to be cleaned so he has something to eat out of. That takes about 15 or so minutes to get done. Then, if he has dirty laundry, that needs to be started and that takes another 15 or so minutes to get done. After that, there are our dirty dishes to take care of and if the Beaver our dog doesn’t get some attention at some point, he freaks out so I need to play with him.

Poor dog hasn't been adjusting well. :(

When I’m done playing with Beaver and have let him out outside, which takes about a half an hour, then it’s time put Ryan’s laundry in the dryer, and in a blink of an eye, an hour, hour and a half has gone by and that leaves me about an hour to take a nap before Ryan starts to wake up for his next feeding. That may sound like enough time to get some sleep, yet it really isn’t because more often than not as soon as I fall asleep, he wakes up and I feel worse than I would have without even going to sleep at all. So, I would rather just kind of veg out for that time, like play on Facebook or watch TV, and wait until I need to get Ryan’s laundry done and then eventually get Ryan to change and feed him. It’s just easier than falling into a deep sleep only to wake up 30 or so minutes later.

Basically when it comes down to it, sleeping when your newborn sleeps just doesn’t seem to work for me and it’s not advice that I would pass along myself to new parents. What I would suggest to new parents would be to simply take turns taking care of your little guy or gal with your partner. If you split up the duties, then, everyone will get some rest and for me and Dave, there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel with Ryan’s sleeping habits. Last night, Dave told me that Ryan slept from 10:30 pm till a little after 4 am straight. Dave stayed up to check on him once and awhile to make sure that he was okay and tonight, we have our fingers crossed that Ryan will sleep through the night again. All I know is that we just have to stay the course and if we do, we’ll all end up getting all the rest that we’ll need at some point! Sweet! And yes, Dave is taking a well deserved nap right now and I have every intention of doing something nice for him for all the support he has given me! There will definitely be some eight or nine straight hours of uninterrupted sleep for him in the future! :) Just saying!

Well, that’s about all I have for today. I’ll let you know what happens with Ryan’s sleeping in my next blog post. So stay tuned and until next time, it’s Carla the new mom and tomboy signing off!