I Need to Get Me Some Zzzs

I am sleep-deprived. Have been for the last 2 1/2 months, since we brought home our littlest angel.

So does that make me chronically or acutely sleep deprived? Go figure. The US National Center for Health Statistics defines a "chronic" condition as one that lasts 3 months or more, while "acute" refers to conditions that are abrupt, sharp and brief.

I guess I am an acutely-soon-to-be-chronically-sleep-deprived person.

Whatever.

I am on the last few weeks of my maternity leave, and I shudder to think of a bleary-eyed me trudging woozily back into the office everyday. Having said that, I think I'm getting used to only a few hours sleep now -- should I say Hurray then?

The longest stretch I can sleep at night is 3 hours, that's if I'm lucky. As soon as I hit the pillows I start thinking (more like obsessing) about the things that need doing and fixing the next day. By the time I nod off to la-la-land I hear the little one's whimpers, and so I stand up again. Once I lay me down again I find that I cannot sleep anymore, so I think about things that need doing and fixing...

And the cycle begins anew. Tick-tock.

Much like the nalipasan ng gutom phenomenon, when one's hunger hits a peak and, if not assuaged immediately, becomes less noticeable as time goes by, I think I am frequently nalilipasan ng tulog. Boo-hoo.

I really envy those who have the ability to sleep at a moment's notice, anytime, anywhere, anyhow. My husband is a lot like that, so he can get his fill of zzzs whenever there is an opportunity. Heck, I bet he could even sleep standing up so long as I give him something to lean on!

I am unable to cultivate this talent of sleeping-on-demand, something that would be so useful right now, that I am at home all day and could theoretically sleep when the baby is in dreamland as well.

And it doesn't help that as I tuck her in at night she would at times be very alert, batting her eyes at me and giving me those enchanting dimply smiles. They're like siren songs -- only I get reeled in to stay awake longer, and so I coo and play with her some more.

After all, what's missing a few hours of sleep compared to this?