Friday, June 12, 2009

Bad Mom?

Last weekend we went to my cousin's graduation party. Thusly, Alex was outside for pretty much most of the day. They say that fresh air is good for babies and helps them to sleep longer, so I was curious to put it to the test that night.

There was a Wings game on, so Joe had him asleep at about 7 pm. (Those not in the know, my husband is a wee bit [read: ridiculously] superstitious, and since Alex was sleeping when the Wings won the previous game, he must also be sleeping in order for them to win subsequent games. This also holds true for all food/beverages consumed during a winning game. Or activities. Or things said. Or clothes worn. Whatever.)

Anyway, he slept from about 7-10 pm. We fed him, changed him, and hypnotized him back to sleep at about 10:45...AND HE DIDN'T WAKE UP AGAIN UNTIL 5:15 am!

Imagine my delight when I woke up and glanced at the clock. Well, I really didn't 'glance' since I am nearly blind as a bat. I more or less stumbled around in a seemingly drunken stupor until I found my glasses...but then it was still really dark so I had to pretty much Helen Keller the clock on the wall until I saw/felt 5:15. At which point I thought the clock was surely wrong/innacurate/out of batteries and searched for my cell phone which never tells a time lie, thanks to GPS or whatever government top secret entity keeps time. Do you see how nothing is ever easy in my life? Not even telling the freakin' time.

Anyway, my cell phone confirmed it was, in fact, 5:15 am and I was absolutely elated over his long length of slumber. I was so excited that I am guilty of pretty much proclaiming it to anyone with ears. But strangely, the first thing out of people's mouths was always, "Were you scared?" Honestly, at least 15 women have had that response.

Peoplepeoplepeople...why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks would I be scared? I was delighted! Overjoyed! Dancin' on the ceiling with Lionel Ritchie, in fact!

Apparently, most first time moms should be "scared" the first time their baby sleeps a long stretch like that. Because it's been too long since he ate? Because he could have ran away? Seriously! He's SLEEPING...which means IIIIIIII am sleeping!!!!!! <--AWESOMENESS

Since that day, I've made it my mission to get Alex outside for at least one hour every day. Right now, he's in his swing by the front screen door, breathing in that beautiful, glorious, sleep-inducing air. Do they can this stuff? Where can I buy it?

Bad mom? I think not. Great kid? Absolutely.

6 comments:

Ameya said...

Haha! WOO for sleeping babies! I hope that the city we're moving to isn't like the rest of China air-quality wise or that would only work in giving baby asthma/lung disease, and I would love to have a secret trick to make a baby sleep!

Aliya said...

My husband is the same way with games and superstitions. One time he jumped up and screamed when I was closing the blinds bc "they have to stay open since the Eagles are winning." Where do guys come up with this stuff?? :)

Cheryl Martinson said...

I am the exact same way. I have 2 children and I was spoiled with my daughter...then I had my son. Whole different ball of wax. He has just turned a year old and still doesn't always sleep through the night, but when he does, I surely do a happy dance. I have been such a mess for so long that when I do get sleep odd things start to happen, like my house is tidier and I'm in a good mood. Congratulations on having some sleep. It is a real accomplishment....isn't it?

~Cheryl the Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom
http://frazzledsupermom.blogspot.com/

In With the Light said...

that is awesome! i bet your body and brain are thanking you for that awesome slumber you both enjoyed. :)

Shanni ♥ said...

The first time Ace really slept through the night, my eyes shot open around 6 am I glanced at the clock and olympic-style sprinted to his room. I burst through his room causing a sonic boom, I'm sure, and there he was, I ran to his crib and watched his chest, made sure he was still breathing and all was fine. I was petrified that SIDS may have struck.

Aiden didn't really sleep through the night consistently until after he was a year old. When he was younger his eating schedule was 10,2,6,10,2,6... And since I'm a night owl he would usually wake up hungry right before my bedtime I would nurse him around 10, then he'd sleep til 2 a.m., I'd nurse him, sleep til 6, I'd nurse him then he'd sleep til around 8 or 9 when he was ready to get up. So I like to think I always got relatively "good" sleep. When he was around 6 months he would only wake up once at night around 2-4 to nurse and then go back to bed. Sometime after he turned one I realized that he was just waking up at night out of habit, and because he loved to nurse, so I stopped nursing him at night when he would wake up and instead I would rock him back to sleep, he quickly learned he wasn't going to be fed when he woke up so he quit doing it all together =)

He's pretty much always been a good sleeper. Now he sleeps through the night everynight, except for the rare occasion when I think he has a nightmare or something. And he also takes a 3-4 hour nap every day. Noon - 3 or 4. And he's usually in bed by 8 or 9.


You may find this blog funny, her post is SO TRUE! I don't know if you've experienced it yet, but if not, I'm sure you will!

Kids, Canines, and Chaos said...

Chiropractor? Best.advice.ever.

I went in, got readjusted and left sans headache. And? My homework? Relax my neck by laying down. Sorry, hubby.. can't do those dishes right now, I have to do my homework! Ha!