Naps are my Nemesis

I have two nap issues to share with you today.

Miss Rose is 4.5 and has been a pretty great sleeper most of her life. We had a few weeks of crying around 6 months as she learned to put herself to sleep and to sleep through the night. (Thankfully I learned my lesson and taught Maleah to self-soothe much earlier so we didn't have to go through that again). Miss Rose thrives on routine and so was always glad to go down for her naps. Around 18 months I converted her to 1 afternoon nap--which for a long time was 3 and sometimes even 4 hours. Oh such glorious hours for a mom!

I realize I am lucky that at 4.5 she will still gladly take a 2 hr nap. But it's starting to cause problems at night. Bedtime is around 8pm, which both mama and dad rely upon! We'd both much rather have kids who are in bed early and have those last few evening hours to ourselves, then have them sleep in late. However, some nights this summer Miss Rose has been up until 9:30 or 10pm. She'll play around in her room some, come out and ask us things about 10 times until we finally law down the law. I know it means naptime needs to come to an end.

But the transition is NOT an easy one for her. She may make it okay through naptime playing and having quiet time, but the evening almost always brings very bad behavior. Tonight she basically yelled at me at a church event (chastised may be a better word), in front of other adults. Not acceptable. I know the lack of a nap is part of it--but we teach her that no matter how she feels, she still has to behave.

Some days she still takes naps, especially if it's been a big morning, but I try to keep those shorter. I know she will adjust, but for my routine oriented girl, it's not easy. We have a year until Kindergarten, so hopefully by then it will be all worked out.

The other nap issue is my own! With this pregnancy, and the current heat especially, I am just exhausted in the afternoons. Some days I literally cannot keep my eyes open. When I'm at work, I have to--but days I am at home, it's a struggle. Mostly the nap wins!

I've shared before how insomnia is an issue for me. These naps don't help. Take yesterday for instance. I spent much of the morning doing housework and laundry then we had a family outing. It was fun--but by the time we got home and got the kids down, it was lights out for me. I slept probably 1.5 hrs. And in spite of the two tylenol PM I took around 10:30, I did not fall asleep until almost 2am. That's a bit worse than normal, but it's common.

It's a vicious cycle. Because then I wake up tired. I'm trying to avoid caffeine, so I can't rely on that to keep my awake. Come afternoon--I need another nap!

Somehow today I managed to avoid taking a nap, in spite of the 2am incident. That should mean I'll easily fall asleep tonight and perhaps not need a nap tomorrow. I'd rather get my sleep at night. I'm waiting for more of the infamous "2nd trimester" energy to come my way. I know come the 3rd trimester, I'll probably need more naps again.

So, avoiding our home right now is a good idea. We have a grumpy, tired pregnant mama, and a grumpy tired napless 4.5 yr old. Oh the joys!!

Morning People

I am not one of them. But I am beginning to see the draw.

I've always enjoyed my sleep. I wasn't really a teenager or college that slept until noon, but if I had the chance--I'd sleep until 10am. Probably the thing that makes me most NOT a morning person is that I need time to wake up.

The second the alarm goes off, no matter what time it is, Bean pops up, is wide awake and ready to face the day. Miss Rose is like this too, for the most part. Me...I am a snoozer. I used to set my alarm early just to be able to snooze it a few times. I need my wake up time.

When Bean and I were first married we had a halogen lamp in our room, which was next to my side of the bed. He needed a little light to get ready with--but I made him turn it on the lowest setting possible, otherwise I got really grumpy! I made it clear that least amount of noise and light possible was a must.

Once I get a shower, or 20 minutes of gazing off into la-la land, I'm good to go. It's not so much about the amount of sleep I get or the time I have to wake up, it's about actually getting my brain and body to be awake. Even when the kids are up and bouncing around, I'm still moving around like a zombie. Miss Rose sometimes get frustrated with me because I don't remember what she asked for or am moving so slowly.

My sister has recently been insiring me to get up early. She's been on this fitness and health quest and has been waking up at 5am a few mornings a week to do an exercise DVD. Some days, she even goes running after work too. So, I've given it a try. It is difficult, especially on the days I work, to get to the lake with the kids to run in the evening.

I must admit...I saw the light on the dark side for a moment. It does feel really good to get a strong start to the day. To get a whole workout in before starting the day. It was nice to sit at my desk knowing I could lesiurely pick the kids up and head home for the night.

Growing up I remember my mom often being up before the rest of us (4 kids) to have quiet time with God or get started on household stuff. I couldn't imagine getting up so early, but now I see why she did it. It's one of the only times the house is quiet and I can work uninterrupted.

There is a chance that I will try to get up early a few days a week to get things done or to work out. But, I don't think I'll ever be able to consider myself a morning person. I still need my wake-up time. I can't wait until the kids learn to sleep in on a Saturday.

Sleep Issues

I have sleep issues. You probably read the title and thought I'd be talking about my kids. Nope. Gracie goes down like a champ without a peep. Miss Rose takes a long time to fall asleep but once she's out, she's out. I'm the one with reoccuring issues. (I know that cutting out Miss Rose's 2-hr nap--she's almost 4.5 after all--would probably solve her problems...but see, sometimes I need a nap too!)

I have somewhat of an overactive mind...at the exact moment my head hits the pillow. I've never been one to fall asleep at the drop of a hat (unlike Bean who is infamous for it). It takes me a while to unwind. The second I get in bed, I begin to think about my day, to think about my job, to plan the next stages of life, to calculate our budget, the train of thought just never ends.

Reading for a short time in bed usually helps my mind focus away from life stuff and onto the mundane (usually of christian romance novels!) But this can also be a catch-22. I'm a fast reader...and if I'm really into a book, or close to the end, I have a hard time putting it down. Which can mean being awake well past midnight. The girls wake between 6:30 and 7am and on workdays I'm up at 6:15. This means not enough sleep!

So on the weekends, I sometimes resort to naps. I must confess...I've napped 3 days in a row this weekend, which is above average for me. But napping is a catch-22 also. Because a nap longer than 45min means I'll have even MORE trouble falling asleep. Like tonight. I was up too late reading last night, was tired and took a nap and now when I should be going to bed, I feel wide awake.

Tylenol PM is one of my most treasured friends. I discovered this friend during my 1st pregnancy when sciatica made it next to impossible to sleep. Of course a breastfeeding mom must be ready to wake at the drop of a hat, so Tylenol PM and I can't really be friends during baby's first year. Now that Gracie is 14 months, Tylenol PM and I are getting reacquainted. In fact, I just took two right now. Gracie still wakes occasionally and needs a bit of attention at night, so I still try to avoid drugging myself. But sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. And if baby wakes...and mama is out cold...Daddy will get up. I have committed to NOT take a nap tomorrow...which means I need sleep tonight.

What I SHOULD do is...
quit caffeine...been there, done that...still LOVE it; although I do try to avoid it later in the day.

stay off the computer in the evening...but that is my computer time, my downtime and I'm taking online classes, so it's my study time

do Yoga or some sort of meditation before bed to relax...um, I'd rather surf the web!

get in bed earlier to unwind....Bean doesn't need much sleep, and he likes to be up at night, so when I go to bed too early, I miss hanging out with him

So, I just deal. Poor Miss Rose. I'm afraid she's headed down the same path. I wonder when I'll have to introduce her to my friend Tylenol PM. Just kidding. I'd never drug my child! It would probably have the opposite effect on her. The kid swam for 3 hrs today and STILL was up 1.5hrs after bedtime.

I'm off to bed to wait for Tylenol PM to work it's magic while I read something. I finished the books I had...time to visit the library again.

Sweet dreams!

Sleepless Saturdays and Sundays

When do kids start to sleep in on the weekends?? No one ever told me when I was expecting, that young children are hardwired to operate opposite to what we think.

Saturday mornings...Bean hasn't been up early showering and leaving for work, the house has been peaceful and quiet. There should be nothing waking my kids up early.

But, let's see. This Saturday, about 6:26 a.m. I hear the first squeal. Then laughter. Mind you, most weekdays normal wake-up time is between 6:45 a.m. and 7 a.m. There were no early wake-ups this week. I go in and Gracie is standing in here crib bouncing and Miss Rose is laughing.

I gave it my best shot. Told Miss Rose it was too early and she needed to stay in bed (she wasn't happy about that, but she obeyed). Took Gracie and put her in the pack and play which is in our room. She layed there for about 2.8min. Then was up, looking at me and yelling. So I got her up and let her play in between Bean and I. Within about 5min she made a loud noise, which brought Miss Rose in our room...so by 6:45 a.m. we had kids climbing all over us.

It's hard to say who wakes who up. Whether it's the baby or my big girl waking first. What I do know is that my big girl knows her days pretty well and what they represent. She knows that Tuesdays and Thursdays are school days, Wednesday is Grammie day, Friday is mommy day---and most importantly Saturday is Daddy day. Meaning Daddy is home--and not working either job. That's her excitment.

During the week I suspect there are times she wakes early, but she knows if she gets up she has to get ready for the day and it's all that much sooner she has to leave home. So she stays in bed and sleeps more. But on the weekends....Daddy AND Mommy are home, so why not wake early and get even more time with them.

Really it's sweet. Although we'd enjoy a little more sleep, the excitment on their faces is hard to resist. And there's nothing that a little coffee can't cure!

Still though, at some point they'll make the turn right? They'll be teenagers who we'll be dragging out of bed at 11am. In the meantime, we'll enjoy their enthusiasm about the day with us.