Supersonic ears

Several weeks back, there was a big storm with thunder, lightning and the works.  In the morning, Eric asked if I had heard the storm during the night.  I hadn't.  I asked if he had heard the baby during the night.  He hadn't. 

While the first couple months I often suspected Eric was pretending to sleep when Brady woke up, this article reveals that this may not be the case.  A line I found interesting, "Car alarms, howling wind and a buzzing fly are the prime noises guaranteed to disturb a man's sleep."  A crying baby didn't even make the top ten.  Of course, a baby's sobs topped the list for women.

I've learned that it is nearly impossible for me to nap if I can hear Brady anywhere in the house.  On Saturday, we had a 5am wake up from Brady, and in the late afternoon, Eric was playing with Brady as I laid down on the couch.  He took him upstairs to our bedroom and I took about a 20 minute nap.  What woke me was not the football game that was blaring on the TV (Eric and I don't always agree on the appropriate volume), but the peeps I heard coming from all the way upstairs.  I seriously have no idea how I could even hear Brady's whines over the television let alone hear them loud enough to stir me from slumber.  I suppose it is the blessing and the curse of motherhood.  I can think of some superpowers I would rather have, but I didn't get a choice in the matter.

So since it's biological, I guess I can't fault Eric for never rarely waking up when Brady wakes.   I stopped turning the monitor on at night because even down the hall, I hear Brady when he wakes, even though he really doesn't make much noise.  The other morning, it was about 6:30 and I heard Brady cooing in his crib.  I jabbed Eric and told him, "Your son is awake."  He turned his head and said to the invisible baby in our bed, "Hey buddy."  I had to clarify and tell him that his son was awake in his bed.  Eric was wise enough to read between the lines as he got out of bed to go fetch his son.

While I no longer question if Eric wakes at night, I do find it suspect that every time I come back to bed, what used to be 50% mine, is now more like 25% with a stray leg often impeding my space.  And since Eric is "sleeping," a gentle nudge rarely gets me the results I am looking for.  So if you see Eric walking around with some bruises, suggest he get his hearing checked.