Do you ever think that maybe babies and cats have some sort of internal barometer so that they know when they got a little too close to the edge of their caretaker's sanity?
the next night M slept from 6pm-1:30am and then from 1:40am-6:45am. The cat slept at the foot of my bed the entire night.
Yes, you heard that right. For the first time in over a year I slept for 5 contiguous hours... amazing how that changes one's perspective on the world.
That did not happen the next night, but I was feeling so much better from the one decent night's sleep that it was ok.
HI! Long time, no comment from me, I'm sorry. I'm trying to get back into the internet swing of things...
ReplyDeleteanyway - yay for sleep!! It is truly amazing what a good night (heck, even a decent night) can do for your outlook on things.
And yes, i am convinced the baby and the cat talk. and plot. and conspire. they do.
ha ha. That's pretty much how it is at my house too. except no cat
ReplyDeleteI think the wee ones can totally sense when you are on the ragged edge, and when they should just back the eff off. I will say, as I read your last post, I could feel the exhaustion and frustration coming through, and wished I could be there to help. Have you thought of getting a babysitter to help out for a day a week, just so you could nap and get stuff done during the day? Yeah, I know it's a drag to have to pay for that, but a good 4 hour nap once a week could be really restorative!
ReplyDeleteYup, same here. I finally get a few hours in a row when I REALLY need it. By the way, i don't know how you're functioning. I'm really impressed that you are able to be a super-professor and a mom (sometimes a single mom, when your dh is away) to boot. I'm struggling to just go to work for a couple of hours a day, and even then I don't get much done. So I guess it's true what they say-- that having a baby while doing a postdoc is a 'good time' for it. Unless you actually want to have a productive postdoc experience! Sigh. There is no 'good time' for the academic mother, and I am definitely seeing why dropout rates are so high among women academics.
ReplyDeleteBTW, don't you just HATE when the baby is asleep but you have insomnia??
I absolutely think that's true. Just when I think I can't take one more second, the baby sleeps and I can finally breathe. I feel myself getting anxious, chest hurting and I want to cry because I just can't get anything done, and just like that she'll take an hour long nap.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful! :-)