You said it, Nia.
Our encounters are brief but welcome none the less.
We're about eleven nights into this journey and one thing is clear: sleep has become a rare commodity. We knew the dreaded "sleep deprivation" was part of the package and we feared the effects it might have on us. After all, Brooke and I are both 9-5'ers and depend on our 7-8 hours of sleep every night. We both have been known to whine incessantly (puts Nia's crying to shame) when we don't sleep well. How could we expect to live with this for the weeks/months to come? Well, if there's one lesson we've learned in these first few days, it's to throw out any and all presumptions and expectations.
Nia's arrival has spurred an exhilaration that keeps us keepin' on despite the "sleep fumes" our bodies are operating on. Make no mistake, we realize this survival by excitement will only last so long. But for now, we've learned to adapt to getting 2, 3, or 4 hours of interrupted sleep a night and we're amazed how well our bodies are holding up. I'm sure after a few months of this I'll be singing a different tune but for now, I'll say this isn't so bad.
Tonight happens to be the first night Nia has showed any real interest in sleeping before 1-2am. She's been on the sleep all day, drink all night schedule. I can't really blame her because, from experience, I can say that's definitely a fun schedule to be on. But it's obviously a bit taxing on the rest of the family. The good news is that once she does start dreaming, she usually goes out for a few 2-3 hour chunks with a feeding in between. Can't really ask for anything more at this stage in the game.
Ahhh... sleep... no, no sleep for you. When - and not too long ago, we brought home a little girl who was wonderful, for the first week. I said 'wow - this is great, she sleeps all the time!' and.... 3.5 months later, boy, was I wrong. I thought we could do it with our wacky schedules. Nope - but when she starts smiling at you, it's all worth it :)
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