Sleeping well?

SINCE becoming a dad, everybody wants to know how much sleep I’m getting.
‘Are you getting much sleep at the moment?’ people ask, staring at me accusingly and checking the bags under my eyes. And – so far – I’m always pleased to report that I’m sleeping pretty well, thanks very much.
We’ve been lucky with Harry. He’s now content to go for up to six hours between feeds, which means we’re only getting up once during the night.
I have to say, that’s far better than I expected. The first couple of nights after Harry came out of hospital were tough. Melissa and I hardly slept – a combination of nervousness and excitement – and Harry seemed to pick up on this, crying for long periods.
Despite this, we were so worried about missing a feed that Melissa even set an alarm to wake us after six hours ‘just in case’.
Of course, there was no chance of sleeping six hours at that early stage and I began to understand how a combination of a lack of sleep, together with the weight of responsibility that comes with being a new parent, can make for a fractured atmosphere.
Fortunately, it didn’t last. Melissa discovered the benefits of dummies (or ‘soothers’ to give them their slightly more appealing trade name) and Harry suddenly began to settle more easily at night.
That’s not to say it’s easy, and some nights are certainly more difficult than others. Given the choice, of course I’d rather have eight hours of uninterrupted sleep but, until Harry decides otherwise, it’s simply not an option.
I wouldn’t change it for the world, though, even if it does mean looking just a little bit more tired than I did six months ago.