Eight hours please

The moment I had a child, my sleep was never the same. Wait...back up. The moment I got married! I was one of those light, silent sleepers when I was single. I slept long and so comfortably in my twin bed being the sole occupant of my room.

Then I married a noisy snorer, though it's not his fault. I've learned compassion! Don't throw your shoe at those who snore. They may actually have a condition that could shorten their life if left untreated and they might not even know it! David had no idea about his sleep apnea until a companion on the mission brought it to his attention. Then, after spending the first 2 months of marriage on the couch, it was time for him to take drastic measures. He did the whole sleep study, got the CPAP (a machine that gives continuous positive airway pressure) and then we could share the same bed during actual sleeping hours. At first, the white noise from the machine and the darth vader breathing was hard for me to get used to. I'd wear a ear plug in the ear that faced Dave. Then, I started to like the sound. Now, after almost 9 years, I can't sleep unless his CPAP is on. Isn't that crazy? If Dave is staying up later than I am, I actually have to go and turn his CPAP on.

Then came the kids. All you mothers and fathers out there (but especially mothers) know what kids do to your sleep. They are no respecters of fatigue or exhaustion. I don't even have an infant anymore and I still get woken up just about every night at least once. Right now, the main culprit is our daughter, Lou. The boys, Ray and little D, wake me up with the occasional "I threw up" or "I peed the bed" or "I had a nightmare". But Lou, oh sweet little Lou , wakes David and I up every night to get into our bed. That's okay. I wouldn't mind if she just slipped into our bed and slept peacefully. We got a king size bed specifically for that reason. But about 3 times a week, Lou wakes up with night terrors: a parasomnia sleep disorder characterized by extreme terror and a temporary inability to regain full consciousness. The subject wakes abruptly from slow-wave sleep, with waking usually accompanied by gasping, moaning, or screaming. It is often impossible to fully awaken the person, and after the episode the subject normally settles back to sleep without waking (Wikipedia). Oh it is so fun! Especially since we had to go through them also with little D who has since grown out of them. Apparently night terrors can affect kids ages 2-6 without any apparent reason. Basically, Lou will sleep until about midnight or one and then wakes up screaming. BUT she is not awake. She won't even let us cuddle, console or otherwise help her. It is basically horrible and if it weren't for David who is extremely patient with her and usually handles it well, I would go crazy. Sometimes, she just needs to go pee, but she won't tell us that. No. In fact, she'll fight us when we put her on the toilet and then pee-pee on the floor. David is really great in these situations. Maybe it comes from that fact that he had years and years of interrupted sleep from apnea and he's used to it. I don't know. But I am not very patient.

Finally after about 20 minutes of inconsolable screaming, Lou will fall asleep in our bed and she wakes up in the morning fully refreshed and extremely cheerful. She doesn't remember anything. My pediatrician's only recommendation to stop her is that we go into her room and fully wake her up right before the night terror and put her back to bed. I haven't tried it because that idea really stinks. After all the work putting her to bed in the first place...

But I have started to see rays of hope shining through. I don't think she is having night terrors quite as frequently. My mom said that once you start having kids, you don't get good sleep for about 20 years. My mother-in-law said it gets worse when your kids are teens and go out late at night while you worry. Good Grief! At least right now, I have my three little ones, pee-pee, throw up, screaming and all safely near me. I guess that is something to be grateful for.