Ever since she was born, the Bear has always been a good sleeper. At night, anyway. She, like her mom, is definitely not a napper. I think I've seen my wife take like two naps in the seven years I've known her. For whatever reason, naps just aren't her thing. I, on the other hand, could be a professional napper. I can nap anywhere at any time, for as little as five minutes to as long as five hours. Every time I'm on a plane or in a car (not driving, obviously), I'm usually asleep within two minutes. Give me a couch and I'm down for the count.
The Bear definitely got her mother's napping genes, or lack thereof.
No, the Bear's been strictly a catnapper from the time we brought her home from the hospital. 30 minutes here, an hour there. Just enough time for her mom or I to get a shower or inhale lunch. I think her longest nap ever was three hours, and that was after a night of beckoning the screaming and crying gods for four hours in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong, I've tried my hardest to make her a napper. I've tried singing to her, humming, giving her bottles, darkening to her bedroom to near pitch blackness, and playing 'white noise' music to make her sleepy. Nothing has worked. At this point, I guess it's probably best to give up the dream and accept reality: she is not, and most likely won't ever be, a napper.
My wife and I try to rationalize our daughter's sleeping habits by claiming that it's better to have a baby who sleeps through the night for a ten to 12 hour stretch--and doesn't nap--than a baby who will nap but get up one or two (or three) times a night. But, as Ayn Rand said, "Rationalization is not a process of perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one's emotions." Well then.
Having a baby who doesn't nap during the day but sleeps all night is certainly not a bad thing. In fact, it's actually pretty good; we're truly blessed that we have a child who sleeps so well. Most parents aren't bestowed the gift of continuous sleep every night, as we are. My wife and I have friends whose kids get up multiple times a night. My sister's two-year-old still gets up at least three times. When she was a newborn and other parents asked how the Bear was sleeping, we were actually embarrassed to say she slept through the night from such a young age, knowing it was not the norm. In fact, we felt sort of guilty and didn't want to make other parents feel bad (worse?) about their struggles with their baby's sleeping. So, we did what any self-respecting parent does. We lied. It just seemed easier to have those parents struggling with a sleepless baby commiserate with us rather than explain how we got our child to sleep so well. Honestly, there wasn't anything we were specifically doing. We just got lucky.
At this point, I know what you're thinking. Yes, I'm well aware that karma will come around and our next baby will probably be a vampire and be up all night. However, with all that being said, I would like a midday nap every once in a while. They're glorious and refreshing. But, alas, I'm a material girl in a material world napless dad in a napless world.
Like I said, the Bear rarely ever naps during the day. We're lucky if she snoozes for a half an hour in the car or while she gets her afternoon bottle. On the other side of the coin, while we don't have a napper on our hands, we have come to rely on the Bear to sleep through the night and thus provide us, her hard-working parents, with night after night of uninterrupted sleep. Generally, from the time she was about six weeks old, the Bear has slept from about 9 o'clock straight through to 7 the next morning. We've been very lucky in that regard.
So, when you grow accustomed to uninterrupted sleep, the nights where you're up with you baby for long stretches in the middle of the night are that much more difficult. They seem to hit you much harder. This past week was one of those times.
Here's a play-by-play of the first night of the Week of No Sleep:
Monday, 8:45 pm, Baby's Nursery
The Bear falls asleep.
Monday, 9:02 pm, Living Room
With the Bear asleep, Mama and Papa Bear watch an episode of Fargo. Papa Bear eats Rita's. Mama Bear eats something organic and vaguely smelly.
Monday, 11:00 pm, Parents' Bedroom/Living Room
Mama Bear falls asleep. Papa Bear watches sports/plays Candy Crush.
Monday, 12:04 am, Parents' Bedroom
Papa Bear gets into bed. Immediately falls asleep. Professional sleeper.
Monday, 1:06 am, Parent's Bedroom
Total silence, except for the rhythmic whirring of the ceiling fan. Peaceful sleep. Happy, soon-to-be-rested parents.
Monday, 1:07 am, Parents' Bedroom
Blood-curdling screaming is heard from offspring. Blue lights from the baby monitor illuminate the room like police sirens. Startled, soon-to-be-exhausted parents.
Monday, 1:37 am, Baby's Nursery
The Bear falls back into restful hibernation in Mama Bear's arms.
Monday, 1:38 am, Baby's Nursery
The Bear is placed back into her crib.
Monday, 1:39 am, Parents' Bedroom
Total silence, except for the rhythmic whirring of the ceiling fan. Peaceful sleep. Happy, soon-to-be-rested parents.
Monday, 1:40 am, Parents' Bedroom
Blood-curdling screaming is heard from offspring. Blue lights from the baby monitor illuminate the room like police sirens. Confused, soon-to-be-exhausted parents.
Monday, 2:07 am, Baby's Nursery
The Bear falls back into restful hibernation in Papa Bear's arms.
Monday, 2:08 am, Baby's Nursery
The Bear is placed back into her crib.
Monday, 2:08:30 am, Parents' Bedroom
Blood-curdling screaming is heard from offspring. Blue lights from the baby monitor illuminate the room like police sirens. Frustrated, soon-to-be-exhausted parents.
Monday, 2:09 am, Guest Bedroom
Mama Bear snuggles with the Bear. The Bear kicks Mama Bear's face repeatedly. Mama Bear tries to coax the Bear to sleep. Bribery doesn't work.
Monday, 3:02 am, Guest Bedroom
The Bear falls asleep, snuggling with Mama Bear.
Monday: 3:43 am, Guest Bedroom
Mama Bear finally falls into a restless sleep.
Monday, 6:31 am, Guest Bedroom
The Bear awakens, smiling and ready for the day, as if she didn't keep her parents up half the night. Mama and Papa Bear awaken, groggy and bleary-eyed.
That was Monday night. And we followed basically the same schedule and get-the-baby-to-fall-back-asleep ritual on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. Each night, the Bear fell asleep in her crib between 8:30 and 9:00, only to awaken (with no stirring whatsoever, mind you) between 12:45 and 1:15 am. Like clockwork. Each night, we tried everything possible to get the Bear back to sleep in her own crib. And each night, it usually took between three and four hours to finally get the Bear sleeping peacefully. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Stayed tuned for Part 2 of the "Who Needs Sleep?" saga!
Until then, enjoy this musical gem by the Barenaked Ladies. I think it's very appropriate and fitting for today's blog.
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