I love to sleep.

I mean, doesn't everyone? I had a boyfriend once who told my dad, when asked what he liked to do, answered, "Sleep." Needless to say, he was not a keeper. Back into the ocean with him!!

So when I was asked at a meeting a few nights ago how many nights I was willing to go with poor sleep in order to get Flipper out of my bed and into her own, I paused. And had a total flashback, one NOT generated by wandering the halls of Grateful Dead concerts in my impetuous youth, a time period that lasted oh, about 15 years. Or, more specifically, until I became "with child," as they said in kinder, gentler times.

Anyway, THIS particular flashback was images of her screaming and me also screaming. Of a baby that was waking up eight to 10 times a night when she was nine months old. Of a mother (and father) who simply could not stomach any kind of "cry it out" training methods, and so tried to endure life on broken sleep. Jagged-edge broken sleep. Clumsy daytime-life broken sleep. There are a few parenting advice cliches that I loathe, and "Sleep when the baby sleeps" comes in at No. 1.

How nice that would be, I thought. As long as some sort of magical troupe of hardworking fairies and elves arrived just as she and I were comatose and did all the laundry, vacuuming, cooking, dishes ... 

But magical cleaning fairies were not, in fact, thick on the ground during this grisly time. The person who mentioned "sleeping when babies sleep" must have also coined the term "sleeping like a baby" because the brutal truth is that A LOT of babies DO NOT sleep very well. Or at all.

I literally thought I was going to lose my mind, and understood very, very clearly why sleep deprivation is a form of torture. Although perhaps not to Bush and Co.

Then, finally, two months before she turned 3, she slept through the night. One would think the term "sleeping through the night" is, I believe, five hours. MY definition, when asked this by a friend, is "until I feel like waking up." 

I kind of did think she would be out of my bed by now, but then I would have missed catching her babbling remarks while she sleeps, ones so amusing I laugh out loud, like this one: I don't want anymore candy!! Some sort of Willy Wonka-Oompma Loompa nightmare, no doubt. 

And I would miss being able to feel her right there, all night long. One day, I know, she will indeed be out of my bed and into her own room. So when asked how many nights of interrupted sleep I was willing to endure, I looked him in the eye and said, "None."

For once, sleeping like a baby. 

Leigh appears every Monday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh at Flipper and Me.