Even before we started weaning the little man, there were a couple of nights when he slept through his eleven o’clock-ish feeding.  This was often the feeding that got me to stop blogging or Internet surfing or working and get to bed.  When it didn’t happen, I just had to look at the clock, realize it was much too late of my own accord, and go to sleep.

Those nights I was surprised to find I had some trouble falling asleep.  I tend to stay up too late, so I was relying on utter exhaustion to knock me out.  But no such luck.  I couldn’t seem to get my mind to stop spinning. Despite having just had some time to myself, I didn’t feel relaxed, didn’t really feel ready for bed.

And then I realized: nursing Jacob relaxed me just as much as it soothed him.  A couple of these nights, I lay in bed, wishing he would wake up to nurse.  When he did, I leaped out of bed and into his room.  Once I got back to my bed, I slept, quite literally, like a baby.

When he didn’t, I just had to wait it out and kind of learn how to fall asleep again. It had been a long time since I had fallen asleep on my own, and now I sympathized with the little guy even more—it’s really not such an easy thing to do!

Thankfully, John and I have recently started reading Anna Karenina to one another in the evenings, after dinner and our rosary.  Now that Jacob’s sleeping through the night, a bedtime story is just what I need to get some good shut-eye.

It’s crazy the things you learn from your kids.