The value of sleep (plus, a Doctor Visit!)

As I'm sure you remember (who can forget?), I basically didn't get much of anything you could call sleep between late April of 2008 (thank you, pregnancy) and March of 2009.

Matt sympathetically referred to this time period as sleep torture. "Even criminals and war prisoners of civilized nations are allowed a full night of sleep," he'd remind me. "That's one of the ways they torture people--they wake you up every hour." I did appreciate his comments, they made a lovely excuse for why I felt less than human for most of a year. Ugh.

When you endure sleep torture for almost a year, you don't forget it. Which is why we've unabashedly shushed houseguests, married a schedule, refused to travel for 6 months after Kalina started sleeping through the night, and still occasionally whisper out of habit even if Kalina's sleeping upstairs and we're in the kitchen. We realize we're a bit ridiculous, but neither of us has the heart to change anything. Imagine being locked in an isolation cell for 11 months. How long would it take for you to willingly walk into a closet and shut the door?

And thanks in part to our efforts (and probably in part to prayer and general maturity as well), our little girl now more-or-less happily helps gather all her animals and then heads up the stairs whenever we mention the fact that "it's naptime" or "it's nighttime." After a 20-minute-or-less routine, she sleeps at least 10 hours for one and generally at least 2 hours for the other, falling asleep on her own (along with Lamby, Mountain Lion, Farm Animals, Cats and Frog, of course) and generally doesn't wake up in the middle, and we're all quite content.

But what can be more disruptive to a good nap and a good night of sleep than a newborn? We have yet to find out what damage, exactly, our new addition will do to our well-laid plans, let alone our psyches (and what damage we all will do to hers), but at least our past experiences have taught us a few things.

For one, that good sleep is worth more than money. To that end, we're shelling out the big bucks to protect every night of sleep we possibly can. This has ranged from buying a new crib and mattress so we don't have to transition Kalina to a big-girl bed and risk a sleep fiasco until she's older (not to mention the fact that cribs fit better in our house than twin-sized beds, and it didn't cost us quite a fortune since we're savvy shoppers), to purchasing a window air conditioner on a whim when our air conditioning went out. It'd be hard to place a real number on how much sleep is worth to us, but I think if given the chance, we'd gladly trade a check with 3 zeros on it for the knowledge that our baby would sleep through the night by 8 weeks of age. (We've heard of these types of children--they're the same ones who are entertained by handing them a toy and aren't terrified of everyone over 6 months of age.)

Other things we've learned: We must have some sort of sound machine at least in Kalina's room, we must have a routine, and we must not travel just when we've finally made some progress with sleeping through the night. And one day, maybe within the next year, the sun will come up and we won't be there to greet it.

It's funny, but you'd think that with all our past experience, we'd have discussed the sleep issue more thoroughly. In truth, there hasn't been much to say--we know and agree to everything above instinctively, as the only options that will allow us to survive this whole newborn business. The new crib/mattress and air conditioner decisions were no-brainers. And one time I openly wondered "will you still help me at night, even though you have a real job now?" and Matt said he'd do what he could, and we left it at that. After all, what more is there to discuss? Inwardly, though, I know we're both resolved that it has to be better than last time. Or else the Odegaard species will go extinct.

I do want to make sure I'm prepared, though. I've heard that you can figure out your newborn's natural schedule by keeping track of when she's active in utero. I liked this idea until I realized that while Little Sister's on a fairly pleasant schedule during the day (read: sleeping a lot), she rivals Big Sister's toddler dancing/twirling between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am. We're all in trouble. And yes, Kalina is already waking her sister up--the occasional elbow to the belly will do that, even to a child who hasn't even been born yet!

Pregnancy sleep has, unfortunately, been much ruder to me this time than last time. With Kalina, I remember that once week 33 hit, we were all done sleeping. I think this time it's been very hit-and-miss since maybe week 25? It's all a bit of a fog. Fortunately, I'm also used to managing with less. I've also noticed that when I sleep particularly poorly, I take it really easy on myself and Kalina the next day (if at all possible) and we end up having a lovely day together.

"Do you nap when Kalina naps?" I was asked yesterday. "No, I'm writing a book," I managed to laugh. Who has time to nap? Even Kalina doesn't at times, busy girl. I'm just hoping that her naps last through the first draft. Lamby, for her part, takes the occasional adorable catnap in Kalina's arms. At least one family member is well-rested.

Doctor Visit!

I think this doctor visit was the easiest yet. I'll admit that I was so relieved not to have a really long wait with a toddler, or bad news once I got to talk to the doctor, that I forgot to ask how I'm measuring and how much weight I've gained (which I think is a perfect 2 pounds).

Grandpa babysat Kalina again, and Kalina took the news in stride. "Daddy's at work. Mommy's off to the doctor. Kalina stays home with Grandpa," she recited throughout the morning, without crying or even frowning. The situation was complicated ever so slightly by a 100-degree fever, but Kalina if anything just mellows out when she's sick, and loses her appetite, so it was a non-issue after all. Whew.

The parking lot was empty when I arrived. Despite being 7 minutes early, I was shooed into an exam room immediately and assured the doctor was already ready for me. With the recent baby boom, I'm not used to this treatment. It was lovely, although I wouldn't have minded a 10-minute wait, seeing as I like reading pregnancy magazines and sipping water. And sitting down.

I did end up with a wait, and I'm not sure why except the doctor must have been finishing some paperwork. I got to browse pregnancy magazines after all, where I read that sometimes newborns don't sleep well, and you can help the situation by keeping the lights dim at night.

I assume I'm still measuring small and was glad that the doctor found no cause for concern. The heartbeat sounded just fine to both of us. The several contractions I've had are nothing to worry about. Nor is labor: everything is faster, easier and less stressful the second time. I should "breeze through it," and my nurse had no business telling me that she had me "pegged for a c-section" last time. Hmph. Baby is positioned just fine.

And so, that was it! I got to leave without scheduling any more worrisome appointments (although my next one is an ultrasound to check the baby's growth--it had already been scheduled), and I felt very good about everything.

Photo: Matt's 3 girls at 34 1/2 weeks! Yes, Kalina and I like to dress alike nowadays. We both think it's fun. I don't care what anyone else thinks--it helps facilitate dressing the toddler in the morning. And we only have a few clothes that "match," anyway, so it's not like we do it every day.