Sleeping like a baby? Depends which baby

How did you sleep last night?

It’s a question that brings out a weird mixture of self pity and pride in me. One that I hate, but secretly kind of love. One that marks me as a mother by nature of it being asked. How Did You Sleep Last Night? (It deserves the capitals)

The answer? Like a freaking baby.

Specifically, my baby. Who woke up at 1am just to hang out. And then screaming at 4am because apparently the hour long hang-out we had at 1 just didn’t cut it. And then decided to get up for the day at 5:30am because one of us had had enough sleep for the night.

The lack of sleep makes life a lot harder some days. I think before you have kids you expect to miss out on a bit of sleep, but nothing really prepares you for the reality. Like the crazy person you become at 3am when your husband rolls over too loudly. Or the fact that you look at the clock at 7:30 and wonder if it’s too early for bed. And those times that you’re dancing around the room singing and rocking, getting increasingly hysterical and then your baby smiles at you. When for a split second the world stops and life is a little bit perfect.

There are people who have babies that sleep less than mine do. There are also people who have babies that sleep more. Disappointingly, my sister has a baby (the same age as mine) who sleeps more. I’ve stopped asking her The Question, because when she answers ‘all night’ I basically just want to punch her in the face (sorry Jade).

Regardless, at some point all babies will start sleeping through the night. And the year (or 3) you spent not sleeping will matter so much less than those almost-perfect middle of the night moments.