Sleep, babies, parents, lack of

Get pregnant and the further you get along you will notice how often people tell you to "get your sleep in now".  Ha ha, you laugh and wince thinking that it is so cliche for someone to tell you that.  Since sleeping becomes harder in later pregnancy so you become more adept to less of it and it feels okay to do so. 
Then you have the baby...la dee da.  That baby doesn't know day from night, up from down.  It's cool because I was on such a whirlwind of high that I didn't know those things either.  The months start to move and you still live on a cloud that is drifting on some kind of renewable fuel.  You just keep going.

I think from around 10 weeks to 20 weeks is where I started to loath most people who came from the outside to contact with me on my cloud.   I looked at them and thought "you think you have problems, try not sleeping at all".  That is if I could think at all.   You find yourself staring into small corners of your living room dissecting dust buildup while sitting on the couch breastfeeding for the 12th time that day.  You stare down at that soft head and watch those puckered lips slurp this precious concoction from your body at 5 in the morning and ponder how you can love someone so much and also wish you were a hypnotist that could put any living creature into a deep sleep.   Mentally your on a roller coaster.

I tried to over analyze this or to compare it to other mothers until I wised up and realized there is no one way.  I went to a class with a sleep coach and she gave me sympathy for being in the 4 month old range, which she classified as the worst month.  I took notes on how to get my baby to sleep longer.  What a joke.   Tell yourself how cool it is to be up and at them in the middle of the night.  Some of the worlds greatest artists and thinkers were up in the middle of the night.  Appreciate that alone time with your little sleep deprivation machine.  They way a baby looks under moonlight coming through the window will bring goosebumps up your spine.
With that,  I guess I have some tidbits of wisdom for any struggling moms out there:

• Eventually, they will sleep.  I still tell myself this every day
• Phases.  Babies are in a perpetual motion of phases.  Some are happier and easier and others...not so much.  Welcome to a life of endless cycles.  They will always pass.
• Schedule-  I had to force myself in to this one but it has paid off.  Buckle down on what you want for now, all you really need is sleep and that means all attention and time is centered around the bald buddha in your lap:
• Naps:  Attempt to put your babe down at round about times for naps so they learn to expect it.  Happy babies nap, end of story.
• Song:  I played the same song Woodie Guthrie's "Goodnight little Darlin' for weeks straight everytime I put him to sleep.  Now if he is tired I sing him that song and it is like I finally became a hypnotist.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TDacirqSsg 

• Swings & other contraptions:  There is a point where these things are the jam.  Arlo would pass right out in the swing till about 3 months, when all he wanted to do was escape the swing.  Find one at a consigment store cause all these gadgets can be expensive.

• Wind down:  If you want your baby to fall asleep at bedtime then don't run around the house like a wild woman trying to be everything to everybody while listening to loud music.  Talk softly, take him outside, tell him a story, chill that bugger out.
•  Baby carrier:  If all else fails, put that little snuggle buggle in a carrier and wander around.  This is a must have if you still want to maintain any type of night lifestyle and attend dinner parties etc.  
• Ear Muffs: I'm serious.  Go ahead and break the bank with a $20 pair of ear muffs.  You could even still go to rock concerts!
  

So there you are and there is always something better to look forward to mamas....Last night, for the first time in Arlo's baby life he went to sleep at 8:00 p.m. and didn't wake up till 5 a.m.  I had to check my clock 3 times to really let this sink in.  It may be a little rainbow over my cloud but what a beautiful rainbow it t'was.