Today I finally felt like I somewhat had it together. I even survived a solo outing with the kids. Twice a year, the local twin club hosts a large thrift sale. I take the kids with me, and this is an important event for them that they look forward to the way other kids look forward to vacation or Christmas. Ree gets to pick out her wardrobe of dresses for the upcoming season, and everyone gets to pick out a "new" toy. Plus I am a sucker for books and educational toys, so there are usually a few bonus mommy-picked items. Today we left with four dresses and a swimsuit for Ree, a Baby Gap outfit for Natalia, and a whole boatload of new toys for everyone.
Following that, we headed to Walmart. Yes, Walmart on Saturday. Need I say more? It actually wasn't all that bad. The Azalea Festival is going on here, the parade was this morning, and the weather was perfect, which meant no one wanted to be stuck shopping in a big box store. There was still ample parking at Walmart when we came out of the store at 11:30.
What's amazing is how I was able to pull myself back together (at least for one day!) while on little sleep. Last night Natalia was awake from 3 - 5am. The whole time she was awake, I kept her in our room, in the dark, and spoke little and only in whispers. I tried nursing her and singing to her. I tried letting her cry it out in her crib and tucking her in our bed. She was just awake. Finally, she asked to go to her crib, and she went right to sleep. I, on the other hand, was wide awake at that point. I read for a little bit, then I started folding laundry. Turns out laundry is about an effective of a stimulant as doing taxes, and in no time, I was getting drowsy.
It used to bother me when I woke up during the night and couldn't fall asleep. Then a couple of months ago I read a BBC article on The Myth of the Eight-Hour Sleep. Apparently, we are not biologically programmed to sleep through the night. Waking for an hour or two in the middle of the night is natural. When I read the article, I shared it with a few friends who I knew also struggled with night waking. Today I happened to get an email from a friend who was awake at the same time as me last night (if only we had known, we could've chatted without the kids!). She commented on how after reading the article, she is no longer stressed about being awake at night. I know what she means. Children aside, I go through periods when I wake up around 2:00 or 3:00. In the past, in addition to the worries that typically had me up in the middle of the night, there was always the pressure of having to fall back asleep. Since reading that article, I too relax knowing that it's perfectly normal to be awake then. Perhaps it's that relaxed attitude that I needed more than actual sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment