Sleeping through

Why is it that everybody you meet asks if your baby is 'sleeping through' yet? Is that the first measure of a successful mother(followed by crawling, walking, talking and the dreaded potty training)?

My first son did not 'sleep through' until he was 11 months old. We had the odd night here and there, and sometimes a couple of nights consecutively, but whilst my fellow ante-natal classers' babies were in dreamland, mine was in my bed or drinking watered-down formula in the vain hope that it would help him to sleep whilst not satisfying him so much that he chose to drink at night instead of in the day.

My second son seems to be going much the same way. At five months old he is still waking every night to no particular pattern and showing no signs of wanting to spend a full 12 hours with no adult company.

My mum tells me that other mothers lie and that I am too honest(and I have to say that I have had some evidence of this when I have had inadvertent conversations with the odd father or two). I don't see the point in lying when the bags under my eyes and my complete inability to concentrate on a proper conversation act as an immediate give-away to my lack of shut-eye.

And why is 'sleeping through' a must anyway? Are babies born to 'sleep through'? Do adults 'sleep through'? My toddler has slept all night almost every night since he was 11 months, but he still has the odd night where he's up talking, crying or screaming for mummy and I'm sure there will be many more.

Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but with my first son already nearing his third birthday, I think the whole 'baby' phase passes far too quickly anyway. So you can have your 'sleeping through', I'm happy to spend as much time as possible with my beautiful babies (just give me enough sleep every few nights to remain compus mentus!).