Dawning of a new day

I was naive. So, so, so naive.

As a very new mom, I thought that one day Miles would not only sleep through the night but sleep through the night in his own bed. I also thought that I would be able to get up early and squeeze in a run before Miles got up, making the often-times arduous stroller runs the exception and not the rule.

Obviously this did not happen.

Mark's and my effort to make everyone's sleep a priority, rejecting sleep training and accepting the transition to a family bed have made this nearly impossible, especially when factoring in Miles' poor sleep habits. Even if I could get up at 5 or 5:30 a.m. to run, Mark gets up at 5:45 to shower for work and that would leave Miles alone in bed.

No run is worth the risk of him getting hurt. The stroller runs have almost been a penance for allowing him to sleep with us, and I've had to accept tweaks in the schedule when he sleeps too late.

Mark and I have discussed getting Miles back in his bed, especially as his year birthday approaches but more so because he's become increasingly difficult to sleep with. We've had hourlong parties at midnight and been throat punched more than we'd like. There have been noses picked, hair pulled and kicks to the nether regions.

However, it was last night when I somehow got peed on in addition to those things when I finally said, "Enough." I figured he could go in his crib and fuss it out. Even if it kept us up, no matter - we were up anyway. Lo and behold, after less than 5 minutes of fussing, he was asleep. He did wake up at 5:15 but a bottle and cuddles quieted him and I found myself awake at 5:30.

Now, I could have gone back to sleep. It definitely would have been beneficial to my mood. I had a sinking feeling, though, that Miles would sleep later and infringe on my very narrow run window. So I went into the bedroom and asked Mark if it was OK to run. (Note: It wasn't really a question but more of a courtesy.)

I suited up and was out the door by 5:45. My dream, 10 months in the making, became reality.

The run wasn't particularly fantastic and my MOTOACTV gave me problems (again ... more on that later) but it was so freeing to be out before it got hot, before people were out, before the sun was up. I covered just shy of 4 miles and walked in the door just as Miles woke up.

I'm not sure how regular this occurrence might be but I am thankful for today.