Sweet Sleep

Lord knows i need it... He really does, because i tell Him all the time.

The last 2 nights have been heavenly for me! Monday night i went to Zumba like usual and on my way home i picked up a few groceries. I didn't get home until 9:45 and wasn't able to put Isaiah to bed until 10:30. He didn't wake up once! When Dan got up to leave around 5:15 i was pretty shocked that Isaiah wasn't laying next to me. It was so hard for me to fall back asleep... i don't think i did. At 6:00 Isaiah woke up and i went and brought him to our bed where we slept until almost 9! This does not happen ...ever! The same thing happened last night, except we got up at 8 this morning. With Isaiah not being by my side made me feel like i was missing a lung, or half of my body.... dramatic, i know.... but that's how i felt. It was a sad feeling.

These past 16 months have been quite the struggle for Isaiah when it comes to sleeping.

There have been countless nights where i have rocked and nursed over and over just to get him to fall asleep. Being up in his room for about 2 hours is exhausting, especially when i know that it is past 10 o'clock and i really just want to go spend some quality time with my patient husband. Don't get me wrong, i absolutely love nursing and rocking Isaiah, but i do not like fighting with him to go to sleep.

Once he is asleep the fight isn't over either. He has been waking up AT LEAST 2 times every night for the last 16 months, and i mean at least, because there have been months where he would wake up 4, 5, 6 or 7 times during the night. I feel so bad, because its not just me that it is effecting. HE needs his sleep as well. He is growing and developing so much that it worries me that he hasn't gotten the sleep that he needs.

His naps aren't all that great either. Around 10 months he began only taking 1 nap a day that lasts only about 2 hours in the afternoon. I am still so very thankful for his nap time, because it gives me a chance to take a shower, relax, or take a nap myself (which i don't do very often).

On another note, he is still breastfeeding, YAY!, and going strong at that! I understand him waking during the night to nurse, which is perfectly fine to me, but to wake up an hour after he's nursed just doesn't seem right to me. Sleeping with me or not.

If your wondering, we co-sleep part time. Isaiah sleeps in his crib when its time for bed, and when he wakes up during the night i go get him and bring him back to our bed for the rest of the night. That way it gives Dan and i time to hang out or go to bed together. I couldn't be happier about our arrangement, and having a supportive husband is wonderful as well.

Anyways, i hope i don't sounds as if i am complaining, because i really am not. I knew motherhood would always be very tiring, especially the more kids you add to the mix. It just amazes me when i hear that other babies start sleeping through the night (On Their Own, and Naturally) when they are not even 6 months or so. It also scares me when i hear of other children not sleeping through the night until they are almost 4 or 5. I imagine my body would be pretty worn after that long of no sleep. Add a few more children (or maybe a lot ;-D) with the same sleep struggles as Isaiah... and i will be one tired Mama!

So maybe this is the beginning of Isaiah sleeping through the night, which would be lovely, or maybe it's not. If not, i will still put on my happy face and continue on as we've been because I'm so proud of my Isaiah baby. I am so blessed to have such a healthy, happy boy who simply may just want to be rocked in his mothers arms.