The Gift of Sleep

I have learned since becoming a mother that people define “sleeping through the night” in many different ways. The textbook definition is sleeping five consecutive hours without a feeding. Some mommies say their baby is sleeping through the night when they go back to sleep quickly and easily after a middle of the night feeding. There’s nothing wrong with these definitions except that neither one is my idea of a restful night of sleep! If I have to get up to feed the baby, we’re not sleeping! And five hours is not my idea of a full night of rest. I’m a sleepyhead. Therefore, I am not quick to announce that my baby is sleeping through the night until baby is sleeping at least 8 hours without me having to get up at all.
Here’s where the drum roll comes in. Can you hear it?!?

Evelyn celebrated her 5 week birthday by sleeping through the night! She has done it the last two nights and I'm hoping that in spite of our traveling schedule the next few days she'll keep at it. Last night I put her to bed at 10 pm and she slept until 6:30 this morning. I know they say that it's a gift to your children when you train them to sleep through the night. But let me tell ya, it feels like a gift to Mommy too!