Slumber Stumper

I am beginning to wonder if the mystery of sleep ever gets solved.
By the end of last summer, Noah would generally sleep through the night.  Then, when September rolled around and I was off maternity leave, he would wake once or twice a night.  I understood this as he was adjusting to my not being around ALL the time.
And it's not as if I would just have to go in and pat his back to settle him back to slumber.  NO, I had to pick him up, nurse him and rock him back to sleep.  This would often take about 40 minutes.
By November I figured that he should have adjusted...Nope.  He still kept getting up.
Then one night, for a reason I can no longer remember, I couldn't settle Noah so Darren did.  And since Darren is not a lactating female, Noah had to settle for a bottle of formula.  And boy did he ever.  He actually slept through the night!  
It was then that I realized that, due to circumstances leading to less opportunities to nurse, my supply had dwindled enough to just give Noah a little snack but not enough to keep him satisfied the whole night through.  And it was then that the bottle replaced the boob and we were officially, yet unintentionally, weaned.
For a few months, I enjoyed nights when the only thing that awoke me was a full bladder, which, once emptied, allowed me to go back to sleep within seconds.  And I actually began to have somewhat of a social life again.  When my friends were over, I would rock my little man to sleep with his bottle (don't judge, it's our cuddle time and we deserve it!) and enjoy a few drinks after knowing that the rest of the night was mine.  Because, let's be honest, rocking a baby with a buzz would give anyone the spins, never mind a pre-mature hangover.
Then, in April, the waking returned....this time hand-in-hand with toddler separation anxiety.  Up until then, he had been fine when I would leave him at daycare.  And suddenly, there he was holding on to my pants so that I couldn't leave.  He would wake up freaking out.  And it seemed to me, that his cries got worse if Daddy went to get him instead of me.  He would nearly jump out of Darren's arms to get to me when I walked in.  
And there we were again, with the 40 minute rocking ritual.  If I was lucky, Noah would sleep through me putting him back in his crib.  Most of the time, he would immediately get up in a panic and crawl back into my arms.  And then, I would do the unimaginable...I would bring him back to bed with me. GASP!  I don't really need to justify it more than this: 1) My eyes were dry and I was tired.  2) I need sleep to deal with grade 7 & 8s all day  3) It worked like a charm, he would be asleep before I even got under the covers.  Luckily, this only lasted for 3 weeks and seemed to end at the same time his anxiety disappeared.  And for those of you who are going to think that I am ruining his ability to fall asleep on his own, you can calm down.  At daycare, all J does is put him in his crib and wish him a nice sleep.  And BAM...sleeping baby.  WTF!?!?
I think May was a decent month.
But in June, he had difficulty sleeping through the night again.  This time I attributed it to the fact that he wasn't making his dinner time drop.  I believe my mother's intuition is right about that one because the times when he would deliver the suppertime special, the monitor would stay silent all night long.  If not, my little man would struggle to get comfortable and his backside wind band would put on a show.  Which would mean that later he would awake, and we would go through another 60 minute ritual (it takes time to get comfortable when your tummy aches) before eventually ending up in bed with us again.  Only this time, he would toss and turn in discomfort.  And yes, I have tried different versions of gripe water and he does eat his prunes.
By July (which is now), his body finally adjusted to a reduced amount of bowel movements.  But to pick up the slack, his bladder began acting up.  Now we awake in the middle of the night because he has wet himself.  And yes, he wears a diaper. And no, we aren't giving him any more liquids than we had before. Oddly enough, there are times when the diaper isn't even that full. Again, WTF!?!?
And to make matters worse, because it is the summer holidays, his schedule is getting pushed further and further back.
His naps are starting later...but they are lasting longer.
And he is going to bed much, much later than he should.  And then, rather than falling asleep after his bottle (and yes, we are still enjoying our well-deserved quality cuddle time), he stares into space for about an hour before finally falling asleep.  But not before tossing and turning on my lap for about 30 minutes. 
And last night, just like he did one night a week ago, he was up for three hours in the middle of the night with energy to play. WTF!?!?
Luckily, it was Daddy's turn to deal with him last night.  And I eventually got back to sleep once it was time for the bottle ritual.  It was a little bit hard to fall asleep when you could hear your precious angel trying to open your bedroom door so he could see his mommy.
So today, I let him sleep in until 9.
I tried settling him for a nap as soon as he showed signs of being tired.
I wasted 90 minutes rocking him while he babbled and played with my hair.
I finally gave up.
BUT, we managed to get him asleep in his crib by 9.  
This is a MIRACLE worth celebrating.
And by celebrating, I mean blogging.