Treasure seeker

Since sleep around here is a valuable commodity - it's the treasure I'm searching for. It's more valuable than cubic zirconium, silver, gold, even diamonds.

I look for it everywhere - mid morning after breakfast, after lunch, mid afternoon, maybe try to find a snooze here and there before dinner, and *gasp* - I even look for it at night.

We're working with Isabelle on sleeping without her pacifier and her swaddle. I'm working, Craig's trying to sleep and Isabelle is crying.

I've heard a grazillion opinions on sleep training - and yes - we are training her. We want her to be able to fall asleep without sucking on the pacifier because :

• If she loses her binky - all hell breaks loose. You'd think she was getting tortured by the way she screams.
  
• Losing her binky while it's still normal hours is fine - but losing it at 3am - in the middle of a R.E.M. cycle or deep into a dream where I'm making out with Edward Cullen - erm - I mean - Craig.... NOT so fine...

And deswaddling....oh deswaddling...
My baby burrito is no more. Isabelle can roll while swaddled. But she's like "Zoolander" - she can't go left - really - she can flip from her back to her tummy, land face down, but then can't flip back over. Last week - I was woken up to the muffled sounds of my baby Bug face down. And more recently - she's found a way to wiggle her way out of the Swaddle Blanket and Miracle Blanket. Normally I'm fine with this - until I found her a few days ago struggling to detangle herself from the blanket that was wrapped.around.her.neck....NOT GOOD PEOPLE!

So - here we are. Not sleeping. I'm fine with it but let me share with you a few things that sleep deprivation has done to me:

• I put Splenda in my water instead of my coffee
• Baked a batch of muffins and couldn't figure out why they tasted so bad. Oops - guess I forgot the sugar. Started from scratch on batch #2 - tried batch #2...forgot the sugar AGAIN...
  
• I woke up in the middle of the night and put on my glasses. Was shocked when my glasses made my vision worse. Took off my glasses and saw clear as day. My heart started pounding - did Jesus come and make this blind girl see in the middle of the night? This dance continued - taking my glasses on and off - holy sh!t - I was healed....or I forgot to take out my contacts the night before.
• I was stopped at a 4 way stop in my neighborhood. I see the person behind me get out of their car and knock on my window. I hesitate but realize it's a girl about my age...so she can't be dangerous. I roll down my window and the girl asks if I'm ok. I look at her and say "Yes - why?" She said I've been at this stop sign for a while and haven't moved. I look at her and say "Oh - I'm waiting for the light to turn green..."

Sleep - I want it. I need it. We need it. We'll find this treasure...hopefully sooner rather than later.