Sleep

I hate waking up.

I’m a wallower. I love to snuggle into the covers. I really love to snuggle in when they’re nice and warm and the bed is freshly made, so the sheets are clean and smooth and nice and tight. I have extra pillows. The firmest, thickest one is my go-to for sleep. One arm up over my head and under the pillow, me on my side… Or both arms under it, on my stomach. I don’t sleep well on my back. And then there are the blankets, most of which I don’t need. I adore soft, plush blankets – like Vellux or microfleece.

My younger daughter takes after me in this. She doesn’t like to wake up, either. She’s busy busy busy while awake, but when it’s snuggle time, she’s my cuddle bunny. And then we put her in her crib, on her back, with her blankie over her. She puts her arms up over her head and plays with her hair. In a couple of hours, if I check on her, she’s on her side or her belly. This has been happening since she learned to roll over at 4 months old. Well… Maybe even before that. This kid, though, slept through the night at 2 months, and rarely awakens before morning – once she’s asleep. Again, like her Mama.

On a typical day, I wake and get showered and dressed, make myself a cup of coffee then her a sippy of warm milk. (Some days I even put “magic powder” in it – which is 1 part Ovaltine, 1 part malted milk mix, and 3 parts toddler formula. She thinks it’s something special.) Then I go into her room and tell her it’s “wakey time” as I turn on the light. I’m fairly quiet – no need for blaring noise and screaming toddlers! She’ll shift and wallow a bit… And sometimes relax back into almost-sleep. As if she has decided she was dreaming Mommy’s voice. A few more quiet “good morning” greetings and she’ll sit up, then stand – eyes closed the whole time. I put her on the changing table and hand her the warm milk… And she drinks it as I change her and get her dressed. Eyes closed still.

Some days, though, she wakes before I make it upstairs, and will fuss a bit. Very occasionally, her brother will get her up and change her diaper. But… I enjoy the morning routine with her!

I love naps, too. I used to be the kind of person who got about 7 hours of sleep a night; now, though, I need more than 8, plus a 30-minute nap at lunch time. I used to have severe insomnia; now I pass out in minutes (especially at lunch). While pregnant, I perfected getting up to pee multiple times in the dark with my eyes completely closed and right back to sleep. Snoring (mine, my husband’s, my son’s…) doesn’t bug me anymore. Light does, but I can adjust my brain for that at lunch time. TV doesn’t keep me awake unless it’s something I have an opinion about… Even my favorite shows can’t keep me awake! Odd noises have to be really, really strange. The beeping of a cell phone charging or ringing does wake me… So I set mine to block all noises except my parents or hubby calling and the alarm clock.

All that having been said, I’m looking forward to my lunch break now…