A Good Night's Sleep

Last night Amanda slept all night long, or at least she didn't cry out for us to come get her, for the first time in over a month. Of course, I still woke up at the times that she normally gets up because my body is so used to waking up then. When I finally woke up at 6:37 a.m. and had not heard a peep out of her all night about four different thoughts went through my head simultaneously.

First, she's dead. I know, that's a horrible thought, but that's truly the first thought. It's partially because every time I see my friend, Lizette, she tells me horror stories of weird ways that kids she knows or knows of have died, and partially because why else would the status quo change? You might think I'm nuts, but the first thing that Charlie said to me this morning is, "Is she dead?", so I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

Second, that Zurtec is really doing the trick. We went for Amanda's one year check-up on Tuesday and the pediatrician finally agreed to put her on allergy medicine. He didn't want to do it before she turned one, but the day after she turned one she was good to go. She's been taking it for a couple of days now. Her nose is still running incessantly all day long, but I think she's starting to sleep better and have less drainage at night. I love drugs for babies.

Third, the fact that she's about to start walking is really tiring her out. So many people have said that their babies started sleeping much better right around the age of one, when they began walking and exerting a lot more energy. Amanda isn't walking yet, but she's on her feet all the time and cruising all over the place. Plus, even when she's not trying to walk she is always moving. It really takes the whole family to keep up with her.

Fourth, and this really was the last thing that may have sort of kind of had something to do with her sleeping through the night, is that I've tried to be a little bit of a hard ass this week getting her back on schedule. I've refused to nurse her when she wakes at night and I've only been rocking her for a few minutes and then putting her back to sleep. It took four days, but that's about right. I seriously doubt this is the answer, but I'd like to believe it is. It would make me feel better about my parenting lately.

Obviously we don't really know what caused it, because Amanda isn't telling, but I just hope this wasn't a fluke and becomes the norm. If it was a fluke, I certainly needed and enjoyed seven hours of uninterrupted sleep (except for the bathroom break at the time she should have been up), and if it wasn't, at least I got a one night reprieve so we can work on it some more. Whatever the case, the first year of sleeplessness is over and it's only going to get better from here. Imagine what I could do if I got seven hours of sleep every night? But wait, what would my excuse be for being such a slacker? Maybe she should still get up at night for a bit longer.