Tiiiiiiiime is on my side (yes it is)

I've always dreaded the end of Daylight Saving Time each fall.  When I was young, it meant the end of soccer practices.  When I was older, being able to sleep in an hour didn't make up for the dark evenings.  Recently, the time change meant that suddenly, my evening commute was spent driving in the dark.  Last year, it didn't make much of a difference to me other than having to walk Mico earlier in the evening and hope his puppy bladder held 'til morning. 

This year, I am really looking forward to the time change.  Tye's sleep patterns have shifted recently in a way that makes daily activities a lot harder for me- she's up until 9:30 or 10 each evening, and then makes up for it by sleeping until 9 the next morning.  While I don't mind sleeping in with her, it makes getting to our 10am activities difficult (and we've been late to every one the past two weeks... something I hate).  And, in order for me to get any time to myself while Tye is in bed, I have to stay awake later than I prefer.  There goes my time to fold laundry, prep food for the next day, and do any work on my computer- like blogging.  Hence my recent absence.  

I think the change in sleep patterns is related to Tye's shifting nap schedule.  Somehow, she's surviving on one nap a day most days.  I'm trying to help gently persuade Tye to sleep in a pattern that will help her fall asleep earlier in the evenings using her bedtime routine of reading stories, then nursing in the rocking chair to lullabyes, but some evenings it just doesn't work.  In the past, I could keep Tye on my breast until she relaxed.  Now, when she'd rather be up and about, she fights back- or should I say, bites back.  And I can't blame her for biting when she's bored with nursing and would rather be playing.  I learned that lessen rather quickly.  

In terms of sleep issues, this one is so minor- Tye is sleeping almost 12 hours a night, and sleeping in fairly good chunks (last night, I got FIVE HOURS of uninterrupted sleep- heaven!!!!!!!!).  She goes to sleep easily once she's tired, whether it's for a nap or in the evening, without being fussy beforehand.  If our social calendar didn't require us to wake up earlier each morning, I wouldn't even worry about it.  Sure, it would be nice to wake up early enough to run and shower before our 10am appointments, then have a couple hours to work and relax after Tye falls asleep each evening... but I can also survive without, and Tye is happy now.  That's why I see the time change as the perfect solution.  Our sleep patterns will swing one hour in the direction I'd like without having to push Tye at all.  I'm still not excited for dark evenings come November 7th, but at least this year there's an up side to the time change.  Of course, things could change in the next month...