Babies Tale

I think the hardest part of my pregnancy was worrying about the sleepless nights I was soon to encounter. I never once felt the dreaded morning sickness. I had sciatica for less than a week, but the anxiety I felt over sleepless nights to come was overwhelming.

Just like every person in the world feels the need to touch a pregnant belly, every person in the world felt the need to advise me to rest up while I still had the chance. Unfortunately, my body had other plans. Toward the end of my pregnancy I was staying up later and waking up earlier. I heard tales of the body preparing for what was to come. I heard tales of pregnancy nesting, where nursery artwork is hung in all of it just made me more anxious about my impending lack of sleep.

Never have I been a night owl. I have seen Saturday Night Live only a handful of times. I never go to a movie if it starts after nine, and I have many times been awakened by a goodnight kiss from my 8-year-old. I am not ashamed.

My parents knew of my need for sleep and knew better than to interrupt it. In junior high, after sleeping over at a friend’s house, my mom let me sleep the following day away, knowing she would be the one to suffer, should she wake me up. In college, I strategically scheduled my classes after 11 a.m. As an adult visiting home, my mom still respected my need for sleep, waking me with a cup of coffee on my nightstand rather than a shake of my shoulder or whisper in my ear.

Now, they’re telling me this will all end. No infant will wake me in the middle of the night with coffee, or, better yet, wait until morning for a clean diaper. No, I had to face facts. My much needed and enjoyed slumbers were about to come to an end.

But wait? Could it be? I brought home my little miracle and discovered another one. She’s a sleeper! My little angel goes to bed at night! My baby wakes up every three hours when she is hungry and then goes right back to sleep. And, even better, she sleeps until nine in the morning! Sleepless nights? Ha! I am the envy of all new moms!

I couldn’t believe my luck when my baby girl continued in her kind ways, allowing me my beauty sleep with minimal interruptions. I felt the hammer had to drop. I’m still waiting for it to drop.

Now, my anxieties have shifted. Sleepless nights? Not a worry. My sights are already set in the distant future boys. While she is still a baby and still my sleeping angel, I know the day will come when I will pace those sleepless nights, worrying about my baby.

Leave a Reply