More Thoughts on Night Waking and Sleep Deprivation

I am one of those people that likes to rationalize everything, I like to find explanations. I am always trying to better understand the world in a way that makes sense to me.  Having a baby has completely thrown me for a loop!  Miko's sleeping patterns are beyond comprehension, the more I try to identify a pattern the more confused I get...

 I have become obsessed with documenting his sleep habits. In fact, I have four different spreadsheets where I record his daily nap schedules, his bedtime routines, and his various night wakings. Every morning I pour over my spreadsheets to try and unlock 'the secret' of his sleeping habits. I even chart his progress in a graph and have become disheartened by a downward trend that has occurred in the past few days. Miko was feeding at regular intervals throughout the night - anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours between each nursing session.  I was getting between 8 and 9 hours of broken sleep a night and could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel of sleeplessness.  I was starting to feel like a normal human being again and assumed that the worst was over.... Just as thought I had it all figured out, everything changed again. Maybe it's because he got his first immunizations, maybe it's another growth spurt, or maybe its because we had to start using a different swaddling blanket because he outgrew the old one?  Maybe its something else entirely? 

 I will forever be baffled by newborn sleep habits. I may never fully understand the sudden and unexpected sleepless nights.  But you know what, that's okay.  I have grown to accept that fact that I have very little control over this aspect of my life right now. The only thing I can do is adjust my attitudes and expectations, and remind myself that it will get better.

I am so very thankful that this is my only 'issue' right now. Miko is an absolute joy!  He is such a happy baby. He seems so very content throughout the day and night.  There is an hour or two in the evening where he just wants to be cuddled and moved about, but other than that he is such an easy baby.  He breastfeeds like a champ and puts himself to sleep in his bassinet without any fussing whatsoever.  Every morning I am greeted with huge smiles and squeals of glee.  He seems to be doing great and that is all I could ever hope for. If I need to endure more weeks of sleep deprivation for his benefit, of course I will do it in a heartbeat!