Sleep Success...?

Do I even dare hope that there will be a new normal around here? Brielle has finally started sleeping better at night. I can hardly believe it's even happening. We've had about 3 good sleeps out of the last 5. I am almost scared to even report progress in case things revert back to the way they were. Last night I only got up once (briefly with Nathanael). Brielle woke up, but only for 10 minutes or so and then fell back asleep on her own (I didn't get up). It was like a dream. A very, very good dream. I cannot even describe how wonderful it is to wake up without feeling like you've been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. This is the best way to describe how I had felt every single day for 364 days.Quite honestly, the sleep deprivation was starting to have some very serious effects on my health, including my mental health. I feel the least healthy I have felt in my whole life. For everyone's sake, things had to change.

I ended up attending a free sleep clinic just over a week ago, which did not teach me anything really new, per say. However, what it did do was help me realize and admit to myself what a terrible state I was in, the toll this sleep deprivation was taking on everyone, and how it didn't have to be this way. It helped get me motivated again, which was what I really needed. I ended up going home, reread the sleep sense book (which has a similar strategy to the sleep clinic) and started on a plan. There have been setbacks and things, but overall, I immediately started seeing small (and now large...really large) improvements. The toughest challenge is that I'm sticking to an incredibly strict napping/sleeping routine and schedule (within 15 minutes). I have noticed that the days where things are not exactly the same (Sundays), it does not go well. Sticking to this strict schedule, though it has its drawbacks, is worth it. Oh yes, it's worth it.