My weird-ass sleeping schedule

[ljwrites]

For the past few months my sleep pattern has settled into something like this:

4-5 days of "bright and early" sleeping and rising, where I fall asleep between 9 and 10 at night while breastfeeding the baby*

1-2 days of "what do you mean, night owl? I saw the dawn light before I fell asleep" where I can't sleep for shit and stay up until 3-5 a.m.

It looks like my generally night owl body is adjusting to being a parent in a weird way, like I can't stay awake past 10 most nights but after a few days my body gets sick of that and stays up late to compensate.

I don't generally sleep in after late nights either, because a toddler who wants his mommy to wake up is a force of nature who will climb over you, poke you in the eyes, cry in your ear, and (in one memorable case) attempt to pull you upright by the hair. I look forward to the little angel's teenage years when I'll be paying him back--with interest.**

Idk if it's related, but I generally have more energy and procrastinate less these days than I used to. Not that I've become a perfect taskmaster--there are still items on my to-do list that I dread and try to put off--but I've certainly become better about deadlines. I noticed this kind of energy boost in the past when I managed to get a full night's sleep, too. It only took having a baby to get me to a better, if still strange, sleep schedule!

*Yes, the baby generally breastfeeds to fall asleep. Yes, he's going on 17 months old. Yes, we have failed big time at sleep training the baby, but I also suspect he's inherited his parents' jumpy nerves and has a hard time going to sleep in general without a lot of comfort. No, this will not be the last parenting excuse you will hear from me, far from it.

**Not really. I know teenagers do better with later sleep schedules and that's just their biological clock, and I'd prefer to let him sleep in. I'm an advocate for pushing back high school class times, too.

Comments

[dhampyresa]

I feel like I need a flowchart, lol. If it works, it works, though!

[loopy777]

I'm not sure that 'sleep training' is actually a thing. Parents, try, sure, but it might just be a case of humans trying to find a pattern in factors too complex to influence in a meaningful or predictable way.

I once asked my own mom when I started sleeping on a regular schedule and through the night. She thought about it, and said, "Six for the schedule, nine for the whole night."

I promptly apologized.

[lb_lee]

I wonder if the act of breast-feeding itself might have some chemical thing helping you sleep those nights or something? Also, I figure it's not really harmful! That stuff is good for babies, isn't it? Just means he'll get bigger! :D

--somebody