A Better Week for Sleep

I mentioned last week that Arkhon had been having an upset stomach. This week, he has felt much better.

And he looks so handsome. He's now over 18 weeks old.

So much better, in fact, that he has been sleeping from 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Unfortunately for my sleep, I've been waking up anywhere from 3:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This has been fantastic for my NaNoWriMo goal. Last Friday, I had only written 18,370 words. I was supposed to be at 23,333 words. Due to my lack of sleep, I just couldn't get up early enough in the morning in order to write. I was feeling a bit sad about it. I was worried that I once again wasn't going to complete my goal. Last year I was a little over 7000 short of my goal. I tried my best, but I just didn't get it done.

However, with the extra sleep this week, I've been getting up and writing. As of this morning, I now have written 38,620 words. I'm supposed to be at 35,000. I have exceeded my goal for this point. The story is also getting pretty intense, so it's a lot easier to work on it. Yesterday I wrote 5000 words because I just couldn't stop typing. In a week, I've written over 20,000 words.

I'm pretty excited about the progress on my story. The characters are developing nicely and the plot is moving along.

Kevin has been having a great week as well. I haven't posted videos in a long time, so hopefully I'll be able to put some up tomorrow. We have some pretty great ones with Kevin and his new puppy.

The only interruption to our sleep this week has been Dakota. She hasn't been feeling very well, and the other day she was not eating and sick to her stomach. She's obviously in pain, and we're beginning to wonder if her time is drawing to a close.

Our pretty old lady.

I hope not, but she is old and has lived a good life. I keep praying that we will know what to do for her and when it is time to let her go.

Other than that, it's been a great week! Grig's been getting (a lot) more hours at work, which is good and bad. We're grateful for the extra money, but we kind of miss him. He's a great guy. We talk about our respective plots that we're working on for stories, and bounce ideas off of each other.

One of Kevin's rare naps this week. He was exhausted and as soon as his dad picked him up, he fell asleep.

Dogs (and children) are so funny. We buy a bone for Arkhon and Dakota. It doesn't matter which bone we give them, they always want the one that the other has. There isn't really any dog aggression at our house, but I run a lot of interference. Even if Arkhon has a huge bone, if Dakota is chewing on one, he wants the one that she has. It goes the same both ways.

Kids are kind of like that too. It doesn't matter how great their toy is. If another kid is enjoying a toy, they want to take that one.

I guess that also applies to adults. If someone else has something that they love, it can be pretty easy to get jealous and want the things that others have. However, if we learn to be happy with what we already have, we find that we are a lot more content with our lives. It's something I'm working on.

Stark contrast between father and son. This picture was taken right after Grig got home from work. We have a lot to be grateful for.

Now, if only the dogs would learn to be content with their own bones.

My Experiences with Sleeping

When I was a kid, I had the hardest time going to bed.

It wasn't just that I had a hard time falling asleep (although that was also a problem), it was also that I had a hard time WANTING to sleep. I felt like I was wasting so much time when I was asleep. I wanted to be awake and doing things (like reading), and sleep just wasted my time. It helped that I could function on very few hours, and so for a long time I did.

Part of the issue was that if I did try to go to bed early, I would just lay there for hours trying to fall asleep. Sometimes, I even remember coming upstairs crying in frustration because I couldn't pass into unconsciousness. Those were very tiring nights for me, and the more stressed I got about being unable to sleep, the worse it became.

When I got to college, it actually became even more severe m,,,,,,,,,,. At the time, I was experiencing some tremors in my hands and muscles, and they thought that maybe my inability to sleep was the cause. They put me on some medication that was supposed to help me fall asleep. Instead, it helped me gain 20 lbs and since I only took it right before I went to bed, I would take it at 4:00 in the morning and be unable to wake up for class.

That was pretty tough. I quickly got off that medication and just decided to chance it on my own.

I've never been able to shake the weight I gained then. That has been kind of frustrating.

My lack of sleeping continued. Many nights I got two or less hours of sleep. I didn't think it was affecting me, but I'm sure it was. I started to have a hard time waking up and I would fall asleep during class, which I had never done before.

This continued until I left for my mission. On the mission, they have a very strict schedule that they ask you to keep, and for the first time I was trying to go to bed by 10:30 at night. However, even though I was exhausted, I would still sometimes lay in my bed for hours trying to go to sleep.

When I returned to college, I still averaged probably 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I did really well on that, and if I got more than six hours, I often felt more tired.

Motherhood has changed everything. Kevin is waking up about every two hours, and with our early morning schedule, I am learning to go to bed earlier all the time. Sometimes I still can't fall asleep, but usually I am able to.

Kevin and Grig don't have a hard time sleeping. Lucky boys.

I like sleeping now. It doesn't feel like a waste of time. Instead, it feels like a wonderful break. I usually have interesting dreams too, and that often makes it difficult to wake up.

Kevin makes a great alarm clock though. If only all alarm clocks would kick you and pull your hair.

Snoring

Every night, as I try to go to bed, it begins. 

Usually, the dog falls asleep first. (Though sometimes it's Grig or Kevin).  Her breathing deepens, and she relaxes into slumber.

Next, Grig falls asleep.  As he relaxes, sometimes he twitches a little, but luckily for me, he avoids outright kicks. 

Then gradually, Kevin also passes out.  About that time, the snoring begins.

Kevin sometimes snores, but his are cute.  Their very quiet and there is just something adorable about the little grunts his nose makes.

Depending on how Grig is sleeping determines whether or not he snores.  Usually, if he is on his side or stomach, he doesn't snore too badly, but if he is on his back it can get pretty violent.  However, if it bothers me (which it rarely does), I just push him over a little and he stops.

 The dog is probably the loudest of the three.  I was taking a bath this morning after Grig had left for work and I could hear her quite clearly in the bathroom.  Again, it isn't deafening, but for some reason it amuses me.

Do I snore?  Sometimes I'm sure, but if I do, I don't hear it. 

I'm always the last one asleep, but the snoring really doesn't bother me.  In fact, I find it comforting.  It makes me feel safe. Weird, huh?  It is a sound that means that I am not alone.  I usually can go to sleep pretty quickly after that, and I never wake up to the snoring.

I'm a pretty deep sleeper after all.

If I ever have nightmares (which sometimes I still do, and let me tell you, I could write some pretty horrifying scary movies based off of my dreams) I wake up and find comfort in the sounds of those sleeping around me. Then I'll usually cuddle up to my husband's back and return to sleep with more pleasant dreams.

For some, snoring might be their curse, but for me...it's kind of a blessing.

It also helps me know when Grig falls asleep while I'm talking to him.

If Kevin could, he'd sleep like this.

Does anyone in your life snore?  How do you feel about it?