I remember when there was sleep.

There are a number of articles, books, web sites and accounts of first hand experience written which describe parenthood as the most wonderful, joyful, fulfilling experience any person could have. How having your own children grow up before your eyes is an experience cherished for a lifetime. That the experience is to be treasured.

What a crock. It is really all about survival.

It’s about not giving in to constant whining, endless diapers, sharp toys left in the hallway to be stepped on in the middle of the night while making your way to which ever offspring is currently expressing displeasure for one inexplicable reason or another. It’s about sleep – or the lack thereof – and adjusting the habits your adult body has become accustomed to, relished, and enjoyed to those of intermittent 10 minute naps, 2 hour nightly sleep sessions followed by an hour and a half of feedings, burpings, back pattings, consolings and more diaper changes.

Even without the ability to communicate with each other, Ella and Aidan have already formed a tag team and are honing their skills at keeping their parents up at night. First Ella will want to eat, again. It’s not as if she had just sucked down a bottle faster then a greek system participant at a local haunts last call – she’s burped, she’s spit up, she’s rallied and wants more. After getting an additional rationing of frothy goodness and calming down, off in the distance is the sound of a door and the pitter patter of sleep suit padded feet down the hallway and the eventual unnerving crying expelled by her older brother. Tag, it’s your turn brother. Oh joy. Just as the one appears satisfied, the other has decided that sleeping is overrated, both for him and his parents, and that 3:30am is a reasonable hour to wake up and demand attention and/or food as he doesn’t want to be left out. I’m not sure how Aidan knows that, clear down the hall, his little sister has just stopped fussing and it’s time for him to take the stage – but however it’s done Cisco should look into it as it is a remarkable wireless connection of some sort. Yes, an experience to be treasured indeed.

In the end the parents are left with blurry, red eyes, 3-4 hours of sleep (on a good night) and the knowledge that it’s only a few short survival hours away from that nocturnal tag team sounding the bell for that nights first round against the parents.