The All-Night Gourmet

"Frequent night nursing is characteristic of high-need children. It's like going to their favorite restaurant. The ambiance is peaceful, the server is familiar, the cuisine is superb, and they love the management. Who can blame the all-night gourmet?" -Dr. Sears


830 pm I am going to bed. I feel like I should be staying up conversing with my husband, but nope, I am really tired. And maybe tomorrow night I will stay up longer...maybe till 9.



10pm I hear hubby get his after dinner snack, note to self, on the next house, make sure the kitchen is far away from the bedroom. Mike is always hungry.



11pm Hubby comes to bed, steps on all the loud spots on the bamboo floor, note to self, never use bamboo flooring again, brushes teeth, settles in to a deep snore, Callum wakes ready to snack.



2am Callum wakes, nurses, happy as can be, and back to sleep.



4am Callum wakes, nurses, full belly, back to sleep.



5am Callum wakes, he can't be hungry again, I pat his back, nurse him a little, but no, he wants to practice rolling over. or. ..could it be those teeth that are working their way up, or...could it be an upset tummy b/c we started solid foods...convince myself I need to go back to sleep.



615am Callum falls back to sleep, hubby is awake, hubby's phone goes off, creaking off to the bathroom, find clothes, pack lunch, catch sportscenter, out the door-note to self, make sure in our next house , the bedroom is on a separate acre-



7am Callum hears daddy leave, he nurses, full belly, back to sleep-Contemplate getting up to have a few minutes to myself, nope, still tired.



830am We are up for the day-I thought I went to bed early to feel rested...I'm exhausted.



So Callum wants to be cuddled all day. We try to run some errands, stop by Mommy & Me, come home and we are both ready for a nap. I break out some teething tablets for him. They are supposed to make him"sleep like a baby". I am really trying to learn the whole method of sleeping when the baby sleeps, but I always have a hard time winding down. And when do I get time to myself???-LOL


I am getting ready to see what tonight holds. I will dream about how one day my child will be on of "those babies" who goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps till 7am.



I ordered a sleep-mate and it arrives tomorrow. Maybe it will help me catch up on some sleep, but deep inside I do enjoy all those extra cuddles from Callum. I know this stage will be over soon.

In the meantime, Where can I find the book on how to teach hubby to be very, very quiet while baby sleeps? I can give credit to Dad for working shift work. I never imagined my ability to know every creak in the house would pay off so well.