Yes, this is a post about sleep

A whole post about sleep?  Seems a bit much, doesn't it?  I mean, every new mom is exhausted.  And so I know that I am preaching to the choir a little.  But I also know that sleep is one of the biggest issues in my life currently.

Here's the thing: I have 15 month old who has yet to sleep through the night.  She's done maybe five nights with a 6-7 hour stretch.  But most nights follow a pattern of going to sleep at 7:00-7:30, waking up at 10:00, 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and up for the day at 7:00 AM.  Bad nights follow a 1-2 hour sleep cycle pattern, good nights are 3-4.  On a good night, Joey or I only have to get out of bed once to go rock, comfort, feed, change, pace, and cry with her.  On a good night, we're woken up those three or four times by a scream and a couple minutes of crying before she conks back out.  So, what I'm saying is that good nights aren't so good.

You can see why #9 on my list was a big deal.  I haven't slept for more than 6 hours uninterrupted in over 15 months.  I had my chance when we went to SLC, but that night had an unfortunate turn of events that I don't want to relive.  I knew that the night after the Pickwick show was my best chance for a full night sleep without a baby monitor and before I get too uncomfortably pregnant.  And I knew that Joey and Zach were content to stay up later than necessary while I hit the hay early.  When I went to bed at 12:30, they were making ravioli.  The last thing I heard before I drifted off was, "These ravioli are like pillows of goodness."  And just like that, I crossed another item off my list.  I got 7 glorious hours of sleep.  It was pretty amazing.  I feel like I can now turn 30 refreshed.  Well, we'll see what baby #2 has to say about that since she's due a week before my birthday.  But at least I got one more full night sleep in before she arrives.  And who knows, maybe there will be more.

I don't want this post to sound like I'm complaining.  I do miss sleep.  But for the most part, I've gotten used to jolting awake in the middle of the night.  I've learned to weigh my sleep options.  I decide if I want to go to be at 8:30 or write, if I want to nap or fold laundry (guess which one usually wins there!), if straightening up the living room will make me feel more rested in the morning than 15 extra minutes of sleep.  I guess what I'm saying is that I've learned that restfulness isn't always about 8 hours of shut eye.  Sometimes it's about cuddling with Aurelia when she's not sleeping.  Sometimes it's about doing things that make me feel fulfilled.  Sometimes it's about leaning on other people.  All the time it's about leaning on the untiring arms of the Lord.  Sometimes it's about praying for a lot of grace.  Sometimes it's about a visit to Cutters Point or Starbucks.  Sometimes it's about stepping back and getting a bigger and better perspective about what I need to make it through the day.  And sometimes it's remembering that this little nugget makes it all worthwhile.

And here are a few more photos from our little trip to Seattle:

Voulas is amazing! Definitely worth a visit.