How Moms Go Crazy?

It's 2:46 a.m. on Sunday morning. In a quasi-desperate attempt to keep the fridge stocked, I am pumping breastmilk at an hour when only people in their early twenties wearing something sparkly should know what the world looks like. (I am not in my early 20's.) Kiddo has been waking up anywhere from 1-4 in the morning to nurse for a couple weeks (at least) now, which pretty much thwarts my previous pattern of getting up at 4:30 or even 5 to pump a big harvest of sleep-generated milk. Although I *think* the waking has been trending later, I can't really be relied upon to accurately collect data at that hour, and I may be counting two data points as a trend. So I set my alarm for 2:30 to be able to get a good pumping session in before Kiddo wakes up, and consoled myself that I get to go back to bed right afterwards. And whine at you guys, of course!

One trick I have used before when Kiddo wakes up right before my alarm is to try to slake his thirst with just one boob. They're so full at that hour, it usually works, and then I can pump and the other one produces a bunch. The nursed side usually produces a little hind milk which I just toss into the bottle or bag with the larger producing side. But the last few weekdays he has woken up twice, or demanded both sides, or other activities such that I never got to pump. And yesterday I figured I'd better take the chance to catch up on sleep a little rather than pull some crazy stunt like this. I'm remembering the mom I cited in an earlier post who pumped in her airplane bathroom while she piloted a plane in the military... I've still got it easier than that! (Say, I wonder if she'll ever find out about my blog? Hey, pilot mama! You're awesome!)

So you know how we all think our moms are weird in some way or another? I'm starting to understand how mine got that way. Besides this crazy intense love I feel for my kid, which makes me do weird things like sniff the back of his neck while he is smearing banana all over his high chair, I'm starting to think this sleep deprivation is going to be for the loooong haul. Not just those first few months where you're nursing every 90 minutes sometimes, not just the first year, but maybe something is going to keep me from sleeping eight consecutive hours... ever again. This cannot be good for the psyche. I mean, if sleep deprivation were healthy, it wouldn't be an interrogation technique. Say, I wonder if that works on moms?
"Talk, woman! Tell me the location of the secret rebel base!"
"Huh? What's the matter, sweetie, you need a diaper?"