Germinal Press Blog - Mouse in the house

Mouse in the house

Friday, 29 March 2013 Blog Post

Imagine...

It’s 2am, and I’m just tiptoeing out of the baby’s room, after resettling her for the umpeenth time that night. As I shuffle exhaustedly back to my much neglected bed, out of the corner of my eye I see a teeny tiny mouse dart out of my room and down the hall.

Now, up until recently, my immediate reaction to such a sight would be one of stunned horror, followed by an immediate dash for the nearest exit. Usually, even the sight of a beetle would have me rapidly handing over my ATM card and housekeys to the offending intruder, as I frantically abandon ship.

So, on my scale of household invaders, a mouse is up there with an anaconda, or a giant squid, roaming the hallways.

However, this time my immediate reaction was simply...pleeeeease Mr Mouse...do NOT wake the baby, as I watched him scuttle by. I didn’t even flinch and I didn’t care where he went, so long as he did NOT step one tiny paw across the threshold of the baby’s room.

Now looking back, I’m not entirely sure what I thought the mouse might do.

Was it the chaos and commotion that his teeny tiny paws would create on our soft, bouncy carpet?

Or the minute high-pitched squeaking that could be heard by absolutely no-one, not even my cat (who slept through the whole episode).

And at that moment, I realised just precisely how sleep obsessed I had become.

Every waking thought I have, every half-baked sleep-deprived contemplation, revolves around how much sleep I might grab in the next twenty four hours, and everything that I can do to maximise those snoozing opportunities.

I remember reading that by the time a child is two-years-old, the average mother has missed out on six months sleep. I can’t calculate how many express steam facials it will take to rectify such a horrific dent in my beauty sleep – not that I would ever have time to go for one – but I know that physically and mentally I will never quite be the same again, because surely, this amount of sleep deprivation must permanently rewire your brain somehow.

So, what can you do?

Do you get on the list and head to sleep school? Get tough and do some controlled crying? Co-sleep? Or simply ride it out until they leave home?

I personally have tried all of the above and mostly with limited success. (Although I’m still working on the last option.)

And I know that Gina Ford will berate me endlessly for my resignation of the situation, but to me it seems that sometimes, you just score a bad sleeper.

So the one thing that I try to remember through the haze, the exhaustion and the coffee, is that it will end at some point.

And as challenging as it is...a baby not sleeping through is not a reflection on your parenting. Underneath all the sleep deprivation and the long nights is a baby who is so proud of learning to crawl that they want to do it at 3am. Like, who wouldn’t?

The fact they need to share that with you, just makes those nights a little more special. Right?!

Now hand me the Berocca, I’ve a day to get through, and a mouse to find.

A.J. Sutherland is the author of our latest title How To Be The Perfect Dad And Not F**k Things Up, which is available from this site and all good bookstores, and in downloadable form via iTunes and Amazon, among others.

Comments

On Sunday, March Mar 2013 Sarah said...

“We've controlled cried our last two children and while traumatic, it's been worthwhile. Sleeping patterns are much better for both the baby and the parents. I don't recommend it for everyone, but it worked for us. ”

On Sunday, March Mar 2013 Melanie G said...

“My partner and I went through controlled crying (it was a residence experience) and I hated it at first. However, my disdain slowly evaporated as our first born slowly settled in to some routine. My husband was horrified - he thought that sort of thing had been outlawed! But I'll tell you, once asleep, no amount of mice would have awakened our wee boy.”