Looks like my sleep quota's exhausted!

Irrespective of whether you know the art of power nap or not, you will agree that atleast 6 hours of sleep at night remains non-negotiable. 6 hours! Damn! There was a time I needed 9 to 10 hours of sleep every night. I used to joke about it when people raised eyebrows - for all the energy I spent during the day, I had to have that 'recharge' time. 

So, very obviously, Sleep and I have shared a beautiful relationship since the longest I can remember. I could sleep anywhere, anytime, anyhow. I slept entire weekends with barely any wakeful time. Long, boring train journeys, bus rides, car rides, plane rides: I could and would sleep to my heart's content. 

Then 11/6 happened! 

It was like our relationship status went from 'happily married' to 'no longer see each other', overnight. They said at 6 weeks for sure I'd get atleast 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. No luck. 

Then, I was the told, at 3 months, life would magically change overnight and we both (mommy and baby) would be sleeping for longer stretches. Haa! 

We are reaching the 5-month mark now, and 2 hours of continuous sleep happens only on days I am very lucky. The pediatrician gave me some gyaan on 'sleep regression' in 4-month olds - emphasizing it was "all normal". So, that's the thing with parenthood, all you end up with is truckloads of jargon for all the annoying stuff and a mutated meaning of 'normalcy'. 

The verdict?

They say, the half year mark will be the turning point. 

Only for Bollywood buffs: I feel like the Sunny Deol of Damini. "Tareeq par tareeq par tareeq milti rahi hai, par insaaf nahin mila." (Translated as: All that was given was one date after the other. But, justice was never given).

Sigh.

Ask me again, "Is it really that bad"? 

I swear it is! I have slept for 3 hours at a go on exactly two nights. No, don't even begin to tell me babies have phases that come and go. Ofcourse I know that. All that I want to know is in exactly which phase do I get to sleep?

And thus, my latest theory: God has allotted a fixed number of sleep hours to everyone. Something like the limited quantity of the chocolate ice cream in your refrigerator. You can have it all at one go or have a little and make it last for a very long time. Looks like, I have exhausted my sleep quota! How else do you explain other mommas getting to sleep 4-6 hours already?

Special note to all the parents-to-be: Use your sleep quota very wisely. Someone up there is keeping an account!

Power nap/ Yoga nidra

It is no secret that with the joy of mommyhood come countless sleepless nights and days. Between frequent feeds, diapering duties, burping, bath times, changing clothes, and other items on an endlessly long list, sleep is the last thing that 'happens'. I won't even get into the details of dark circles and blotchy skin and all the nasty side effects.
All for the greater love, they say. So be it :D.

The minute you announce the news of your pregnancy, friends, relatives. all and sundry, will surely give you one advice, "Sleep well, rest well." However, well meaning the advice maybe and I even concede, rest is important; but I always felt (and still feel) that you can't really stack up on the sleep quota - something like if you know you are going to fast next month, you can't eat double the previous month! 

So, ofcourse I rested a lot during the nine months, it still didn't come in handy post November 6th. Now, what would have me better prepared? A good course on how to get power naps or yoga nidra. For details on these concepts check Wikipedia: Power nap | Yoga nidra. 

Forget all those Lamaze classes, childbirth classes, labor and delivery classes etc., I feel a mandatory class should be not on breathing but sleeping. I ruefully admire my husband as he gets up refreshed from his 15 minute snooze and I am still tossing and turning to first fall asleep. It takes me atleast 30 mins to fall asleep and sadly, that luxury has not been offered to me till now! I wonder if it ever will be. And anyways, how does one learn power napping? Any ideas?