February 12, 2010

Sleepless in Chicago

Here's the background....


Reese typically sleeps pretty well at night (for a 5 month old). Obviously she has her crazy nights where she wakes up at 1:30 AM and will NOT go back to sleep. But, for the most part, she sleeps from about 8-8:30 PM until 6:30-7:30 AM. Not bad. She wakes up happy and making cute baby noises.

For a while, Brady and I have been curious about what time she really wakes up, because she likes to hang out quietly in her crib before she lets us know she's awake. I figure she is usually awake for about 30 minutes before the squealing begins. Also, recently she has been waking up at all hours of the night, jabbers away for up to 30 minutes, then goes back to sleep.

In addition, daytime sleep is...eh. An average Reese nap is 30-45 minutes 3x a day. If she wakes up earlier (6 AM) then sometimes she'll take a longer nap. Sometimes.

So last night, I had a typical Megan dream. This one was really scary and I woke up at 3 AM all freaked out. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I'd go check on Reese since she's been rolling over at night and sleeping on her stomach. (Makes me very nervous!) I walk quietly into her room, so as to not wake her, and peek over her crib. What the WHAT?!? She is wide awake playing with her hands and feet. I dropped the ground as fast as I could so she couldn't see me and start crying. As I'm laying there wondering how I got such a crazy child, I decide to get another look at her and make sure she's really awake. Yep, WIDE awake. I head back to bed and try to sleep. Around 3:30 AM she starts making cute sounds. I eventually fall asleep. Brady wakes up around 4:30 AM, and she is STILL awake. I'm not sure what time she actually went back to sleep.

So, basically I wonder if my child sleeps at night? OK, yes, I know she sleeps. I guess I wonder how much sleep she is getting at night? She doesn't sleep much during the day, so maybe she has some abnormal ability to function without sleeping?

Here's a picture of how she likes to sleep. She no longer gets to sleep with a blanket (see stomach sleeping comment above).

3 comments:

  1. Hi Megan, it's Alicia, Roger's wife. Do you want an invite to our blog? I feel sheepish because I like to follow yours, but don't know if you're able to view ours. Sounds like motherhood is teaching you lots, as it is also doing to me these days. Kendall has the same sleeping schedule/patterns as Reese- except I'm pretty sure she's sound asleep at night since her pack 'n play is only inches from my head... can't wait to get more square footage. I need your email address.

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  3. Hi Meg. Please don't worry about Reese and her sleeping habits. Her human instinct will figure it all out and she will sleep when she needs to sleep. I actually think that she is so darn happy being with you and Brady that the usual things that would stress out a baby don't. She knows you are there and she knows that you would do anything to protect her. She is just enjoying all the fantastic things around her. Keep doing what you are doing and it will be ok. Dad

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