No wonder sleep deprivation is used as torture

We've had a really tough time getting Ava to fall asleep this week. And when she goes, it's either really late, or we have to keep holding her after she nods off or she'll wake up. Aaack. I got about 12 hours sleep total in three days.

So last night I tried the method I keep reading and hearing about: bedtime routine. I know: groundbreaking. But since the health department frowns on sacrificing farm animals to ancient Egyptian gods in urban areas, I'm game for almost anything at this point if it will do the trick.

When Ava started acting sleepy around 8pm (rubbing eyes, getting fussy), I gave her a bath, a lotion massage, a swaddle, a sleepy time song and a feeding. She was out in less than 5 minutes! Crazy. But then I guess if someone gave me a hot bath, a massage and a hot meal in bed, I'd be drooling in no time too. She did wake up a couple hours later, but it didn't take long to put her back down. I was so giddy with the sudden availability of evening time I promptly frittered it away online and poking around my e-mail. I blame the sleep deprivation for me not thinking straight.

So far, the method worked again tonight, even after I took her to a volunteer organization meeting I had that was supposed to go until 9pm. Yuck. Since I leave so early in the morning for work, I've come to loath evening meetings because they cut into the time I have to spend with her while she's awake. I leave while she's sleeping and if I go straight home after work, I may get an hour and a half or two tops with her while she's alert. Heavy sigh.

In case there's any doubt, this working mom thing blows sometimes. But times like the picture below (Mom and daughter hair clip night! Yay!) offset the other times somewhat.