Scratch that... it has been one of those nights AND days. My sweet boy who used to get up for a 3am feeding has now decided that 1am is a better time. And last night decided that 1am, 3:30am, and 6am were good times. I haven't woken up more than twice in a night since he was about 2 months old!
Who knows why he has been waking up. There are tons of theories and more than enough people saying what you should and should not do as a mama. I should start feeding him rice cereal to fill his belly. I should not nurse him to sleep. I should start sleep training and letting him cry it out. I should not let him become dependent on the paci {too late}. They always have something to say. You know, them. But in all the millions of sleep and baby books I've read, I came across one piece of advice that I have clung to. {Sorry - I can't remember where I read it to reference... if I remember I will post.} My truth to live by: You don't need to fix what isn't broken. And it isn't broken unless I say it's broken. So - even though they all say I shouldn't let him have his paci or I shouldn't nurse him to sleep, if I don't see it as a problem - it isn't. So, my son still sleeps with a paci and I will get up every once in awhile to pop it back in. I still nurse my son to sleep at night... and on days like today when he just needs some extra love. I don't care about the criticism. It doesn't bother me. And all I know is that he needs me.
Proverbs 31:15
She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household...
So, today I find myself using the eye drops for my dry, red, eyes and apologizing to my sweet boy for being so out of touch. These out-of-sync days and nights are going to happen. I feel that I am on the road to creating some bad habits that need to be nipped in the bud. Habits like...
- Staying up late doing
pointlessvery important things {like facebook... reading blogs... catching up on my pile of magazines that I haven't had time to touch}. - Dragging my feet in the morning. Waking up only when Jude wakes up and not making the time to read my Bible, exercise, or have alone time.
- Putting too many things on my "to-do" list. And then feeling guilty and out of it when I try to multi-task instead of focusing on my son. Not sticking to a plan.
- Staying in my pajamas and not showering in
3a couple days. Makes it easy to stay lazy.
I can think of a bazillion other bad habits, but for my self-esteem, let's just stop at four. The first step to change is acknowledging you have a problem, right? These are a few things that I am recognizing as problems in my life. It is directly effecting my energy, my motivation, and my time. So - baby steps.
This week my goal is to go to bed on time. On time being 10pm or earlier. And my other goal? Wake up at 7am to read my Bible. Jude doesn't usually wake up until 7:30, so this should give me 30 minutes of alone time. Eventually I'd like to push that time back, but while I am still getting up at night with him, I need to make sure I am not sleep deprived.
I'll report back in a week and let you know how I did.
What are some of your bad habits you would like to see change in?
And what do you do to make sure you stay refreshed, energized, and ready to tackle the day?
