I’m sure you can relate to the yoyo of sleep that you have when you are a mother.
Or should I say lack of sleep…
If this is a big problem at your house, then you may need to skip right ahead to your own copy of Hacking Sleep!
I have been on a
sleep preservation quest since day one of motherhood.
I am a big fan of sleep. Sleep is good. I am good when I sleep. It was actually one of those things I worried about BEFORE becoming a mother…
when would I sleep?
Because I read approximately 432 parenting books while pregnant (amidst the 983 pregnancy books), I had that answer when the BABY arrived.
You sleep when the baby sleeps!
This seemed to be the ONLY statement that all 1,415 books agreed on –
go ahead and check my math. Every guru, doctor, or nanny who has ever written a pregnancy or parenting book promotes the catchy
sleep while the baby sleeps slogan.
Made sense to me. Made sense to me PRIOR to childbirth. Made sense to me AFTER childbirth
except for the small detail that my firstborn appeared to prefer SCREAMING to SLEEPING.
You sleep when the baby screams! Is less catchy, hard to do
without earplugs and
not in the books.
Obviously I needed another BOOK
or another baby…
That is when I found the Sleep Bible aka
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD (affiliate links used throughout that support Kids Activities Blog). Dr. Weissbluth has fancy graphs and schedules to tell you EXACTLY when to lay your child down for a nap, when to wake or not wake him and then when to put the child to bed – for every stage, age and temperament.
Hallelujah! I followed the book EXACTLY. My baby actually did what the book said!*
*I should mention that I now call my oldest my textbook baby because he was a baby by the book. He responded the way books suggested. He hit milestones ON TARGET to perfection. He even started walking on his first birthday – just like the book predicted. In a cosmic let’s-all-watch-and-laugh-at-Holly-as-she-tries-to-figure-it-out my subsequent children did not respond in any book-related manner.
The good news was I got some sleep as Dr. Weissbluth’s pie graph suggested.
One of the things mentioned in the
Bible of child sleep is that in some cases children will awaken at the same time in the morning no matter what time you put them to bed.
I have found that
I parent three such cases.
If I put them to bed at 6 pm, they awake at 6:12 am.
If I put them to bed at 8 pm, they awake at 6:12 am.
If I put them to bed at 11 pm, they awake at 6:12 am.
It is a freaky phenomenon and so I try to error on the early side…
really, is 4 pm too early?
I do try to get them in bed by 8 so that they get their sleep
and I get some quiet time.
*angel choir softly singing in the background*
All summer I have gotten the boys to bed at a regular time so
the theory went untested. And then there was the fourth of July and last Saturday night. Both nights had boy’s bedtimes exceeding the 11 pm hour. Both nights had the following morning waking time at…6:12 am.
Both following days contained fireworks of tantrums, whining, fighting and general discontent…
and I am talking about MY behavior. Because while the boys can pop out of bed at 6:12 am with vigor for the day,
I cannot.
Which brings me back full circle to the parenting dilemma –
when do I sleep?
In the meantime, here are the
best sleep tips…
And, if you need help with sleep TODAY, then check out Sleep Hacks written by one of the Kids Activities Blog editors who has personal experience with sleep deprivation!
Download & read it right now to get your whole family back to sleeping well.
Now that my kids are older, I can more clearly see how lack of sleep in my house caused problems that should have never been there. Everyone needs their sleep…
…especially me.
I’ll have to check that book out! My 4 month old is a terrible sleeper. We co-sleep and I’d like to, well, not co-sleep anymore. Thanks for the shining recommendation!
I find that the hours between 1 and 4 AM work the best. 🙂
Love your post(and sleep too)!
I also tried in the beginning to sleep when the baby slept My oldest was a “crier” her nickname was “Taylor the Wailer”. When she was up during those first 6 months, most if it was fussy and crying. When she wasn’t doing that, she was so fun (thank goodness)! But she would wear us both out with that crying and then we would both sleep like babies. 🙂
awww… the memories!
By the way, when we mention this to her, she says, “Mom, you know why I was crying?”
“Why?”
She replies, “I was hungry!”
oh, if only they could talk at that age!!!
Have I mentioned how fricken’ funny you are? I read A LOT of blogs (it’s sort of an obsession) and most are because they provide me with some kind of knowledge or information. I follow yours just because it makes me laugh. There are a lot of women blogging about parenting and family but not a single one is as funny and relateable as yours. Thanks for sharing Holly!
Earplugs, a lock on your door, and a big bowl of candy on the floor in front of the tv. You’ll sleep for hours.
Bet that wasn’t in any of those books.
I have been truely blessed with good sleepers…sometimes, too much so. Till would sleep forever…and then not go to bed until very late…ugh. I always did the sleep when they sleeo thing. Thank the Good Lord it worked for me or I would have been a worse mom than I already am!
Sweet photo!
I have one of those, too. Out of seven children, he is the ONLY ONE who is up at the crack of dawn, compared to the rest of us, who could sleep till noon. It was a happy day when he could finally make his own breakfast.
I particularly loved that advice for my second child, the sleep when he sleeps thing.
Too bad the books didn’t cover what to do with son #1 while mama and baby slept.
(love that picture, sweet boy!)
What I have always wanted was a night nanny. Someone who would come in around 11pm and be on duty until 8am, not all week, but maybe Saturday & Sunday. Night wakings, bed wettings and breakfast would all be their responsibility. I would not be disturbed until I emerged from my room at 8am.
My kids get up at 6am no matter what time the go to bed. Sometimes, just to be really mean, if they go to be after 10pm, they wake up at 5:30am. This summer I have been presetting the TV to Noggin & the kids now go in the living room & watch TV until Mom & Dad drag themselves out of bed at 7.
I keep telling myself the bonus to this is they wake up on their own for school & I don’t have to fight them to get out of bed in the morning
i don’t get it either. why why why can’t they sleep in?