Good nights sleep? Yeah, right…

I remember a time when sleep was not essential. 

Days rolled into one and sleep was replaced by Red Bull.  Or a close alternative.

When you did take the decision to have a ‘bit of a rest’, you didn’t even need a bed.  I remember a time when I decided to have a nap and awoke the next morning on a park bench in the centre of town.  Or the time when I awoke in a field hedge many miles from home.  Still don’t know what happened.

I’m obviously reminiscing about my adulthood adventures.  Good times.  From what I remember.

But nowadays sleep is a big factor.

Parenting can be quite a struggle without proper rest, which obviously, you don’t get.  With the first child the shock is instant.  Your regular sleep pattern goes out of the window.  No more waking up at a weekend to the tune of Football Focus and regular lie-ins until lunchtime.

The late night movie is no longer a viable option.  Drinking copious amounts of alcohol of an evening is just not doable.  Entertaining friends with a friendly game of Twister and light refreshments, pah, forget it!

Once the initial shock has been handled, you settle into a routine and work your sleep pattern around the needs of the child and its feeding.  Happy days, we’re all human again.

Now, the time has come and you decide to have another child.  What you fail to take into account when you make this decision, is how the hell you are going to sleep with two children.  Surely nobody can handle that??  Only time will tell.

If, like me, you have waited two and a half years before having the second child, it’s not actually as bad as you think.  The first child has gotten into their own sleeping pattern and are not waking you up as much as they used to, apart from times of illness (see previous post) and nightmares.

It still takes a while to adapt to having to look after another person at night, although we have been extremely lucky.  At the age of five weeks, my boy sleeps from 11pm through ’til 5am and has already dropped a feed.  Now, who expects to get six hours kip with a still relatively newborn baby?  That’s my boy.  And to top it off, without bragging, he’s already into his cot and I reckon, give it a few weeks, he’ll be in his own room!  No more tip toeing around the bedroom and stifling the cries of pain when I stub my toe!

I still can’t watch late night tv, sit on the xbox all night or get tanked up, but I think I can live without them.  For the time being that is.

So for all those parents out there having difficulties with sleeping children, I sympathise with you and do not mean to show off.  Because no doubt in the future, I will not have it so lucky.

What I am dreading though is the sleepless nights I’m going to have when the kids have grown up into teenagers.  Remembering what I was like, its quite scary to think that they might be like Daddy.

Having a nap…

Well, the last few days on this blog have been quiet, I admit, but things have been a bit stressful.  It’s not easy running a department on your own, especially when you’re in demand, but that’s not a problem.

I’ve just been having a break from using a computer, man they can hurt your head!  My work is computer based so every now and again my brain gets a little fried and a ban is the only thing that can help.

Add to that a moaning family.  Nice.

With a missus who already thinks she is 15 months pregnant and a child who is constantly tired and whiny, every day is long.

No, I’m not complaining really, honest.  I just wish I knew what was making the little one so tired.  We have a theory that she is awaiting the arrival of yet more teeth and so her sleep pattern is out of line, thus making her a nightmare during the day.  I say nightmare, she’s not really, but when the parent’s don’t get much sleep either, it’s a monotonous circle.

Sleeping – A question of patience?

Am I tired?  Yes.
Do I have enormous bags under my eyes?  Yes.
Did I have a late night including alcohol, fast food, etc?  If only. *hollow laughter*

I have a question, when do children become normal sleepers?  You know, that thing I remember from my childhood, er.. what was it called, oh yes, a full nights sleep!?

I know, from experience, that the later teenage years is a sleep driven existance, particularly during the day, but I can’t remember the last time I had a full nights sleep, let alone one of those treats, called a ‘lay in’.

I know Sophie is still young, only just turned two, but she recently started to carve a proper sleep pattern and all was happy with the world.  But then, all of a sudden, waking in the night and waking up stupidly early.  Before you say it, yes, I know this is part of being what is known as a ‘parent’, but I am not a morning person.  Really I’m not.  And if there is anything I can learn about how to selfishly grab back those late morning wake ups, then I am fully open to suggestions.

It has been mentioned that maybe she is having another growth spurt (possibly, but if she has anymore, I’ll be sending her down the shops to buy me a beer), maybe has more teeth coming through (fair point, just waiting for when she asks for steak for her dinner) or she is just an unsettled sleeper (god, I hope not).  I can’t wait until we try and get her into a proper bed, she’s still in her cot at the moment.  She’s never going to go asleep properly, I’ll end up finding her in the wardrobe, upside down in a toy box!

I suppose it’s just a question of time, and having to just sit it out.  Hang on, I’ve just thought, we’re expecting……………………… bye bye sleep, it was nice knowing you.