All you have to do is invent The Baby Timer.

A little device that sits next to the baby to let you know how long you have until it wakes up again.

I picture a gauge with a needle that can go from green to yellow to red.

Green -Baby will continue to sleep for some time. Take a nap, make dinner, take up knitting – you’ve got time.

Yellow – Baby is past half way point of nap.  Finish getting that dinner on the table, don’t bother taking a nap anymore and don’t forget to use the bathroom!

Red – Baby will wake at any moment!!! PANIC -Did you feed the other kids? Did you pee? Did you eat?

It would be brilliant, mothers everywhere would buy one.

If I had one of those I would know what to do now.

Usually Jane wakes up at this time of night.

Except for the night that she slept seven hours in a row.

Will she do it again? Will it be tonight?

Or if I go to sleep will she wake me up 15 minutes later?

I hate that.

I’m banking that her imaginary timer is yellow so I’ll stay up a bit longer and if I’m wrong and it’s actually green then I’m just depriving myself of good sleep.

It’s a conundrum.

I’m telling you, invent the baby timer and you’ll be a millionaire.

(And how come if an adult sees a baby yawn it makes them yawn but that same adult can yawn at the baby until their eyes water and it has no effect on the baby?)