Sleep

I am jealous of how quickly Cody falls asleep. He is usually sound asleep within 3 minutes of climbing into bed at night. (I'm not exaggerating!) It's like his brain has a simple on/off switch, while mine carries a 400 page manual detailing the complicated shut-down procedure. Plus, when he is asleep he is "off" while I am merely in "sleep mode." There is a big difference. I'm not exactly sure of the distance between "off" and dead, but they are very similar. Cody doesn't hear the kids' cries or the distant siren, or feel the cat jump onto the foot of the bed. I am instantly awakened by all these external stimuli, much as the computer monitor responds to a slight push of the mouse. Then there are the internal stimuli such as my pregnancy-distressed bladder and the soon to be felt gymnastics of baby number three. S/he might be highly nocturnal, who knows! It's enough to make me feel slightly irritated by the peaceful regular breathing I hear near by that is eluding my grasp. In fact, I finally came downstairs to write this down thinking perhaps then my mind will be cleared enough to find sleep. Does drinking a warm glass of milk really help? How about counting sheep? On top of this, today I read in the paper that lack of sleep causes people to over-eat. Great. Better go try again...good night.