"So that's what hash browns are for!"

Looks like I've joined Ian, whose middle of the night antics I blogged about here, in the fellowship of the sleeptalkers.

It happened early yesterday morning. Jackson woke me up for his 5:00 AM feeding. After nursing, I laid him back down to sleep. It was all going so smoothly. I'd soon be able to return to bed for another 2 hours of sleep. But as I crawled back into bed, I heard the unmistakable sound of an explosion (or ass-plosion, as Ian calls it). Unfortunately, Jackson doesn't like to have his diaper changed, so he woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. Ian had mercy on me and got up to try to soothe our son back to sleep. So there I was, sleeping propped up against my husband, who was cradling our son. I have a vague recollection that I was dreaming something important when all of a sudden I declared, "So that's what hash browns are for!" In a classic moment of role reversal, Ian's laughter woke me up. He told me what I had said and we spent the next few minutes trying to figure out what I must have discovered in my sleep. After all, most people think hash browns are only for eating. What did my sleeping brain unlock about the existence of hash browns?

Talking in his sleep is normal for Ian. But for me, it can only be attributed to utter exhaustion. Sleep deprivation is not a pretty sight on me. But as I've thought about my "plight" as a new mother, I've realized how completely blessed I have been. Since Jackson's birth, I've had one husband and between one to four grandparents here with whom to share the burden of caring for this newborn. I've had it incredibly easy. It makes me appreciate even more my mother and my mother-in-law, who both did it alone, back in the day when there was no family leave for fathers. And to every new mother who has also had to do it alone, my hat's off to you. I'm starting to learn about the reality and the beauty of sacrifice.

Clarice