We still put the boys down to “rest.” Science may say that naps are no longer healthy after the age of 2, but I would like to invite Science to come deal with muppets after a long day and no nap.
(Also, I am 34 and still greatly enjoy naps. So does most of Europe. Suck it Science.)
So this weekend, we once again fought the valiant naptime battle. Continue reading
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When I’m alone
I dream on the horizon
and words fail;
yes, I know there is no light
in a room where the sun is absent,
if you are not with me, with me.
At the windows
show everyone my heart
which you set alight;
enclose within me
the light you
encountered on the street.
What was once something taken for granted became something special; a time to look forward to became something needed. Continue reading
This mission is not for the faint of heart.
Objective: Get children into bed for duration of the night.
Subjects: Two (2) 3-year-olds, highly skilled in art of stalling. Continue reading
Every night the bedtime stories are read. Teeth are brushed. Good nights are said. And 30 seconds after the lights are dimmed will be the pitter-patter of little feet.
No matter how tired the parents are – those little ones never want to go to sleep. Continue reading
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The boys won’t sleep. Neither of them. The whining would begin the moment the doorframe came into view. The banshee wails began as the child was held over the prison crib walls.
We attempted a reset. Turned on all the lights. Ran around the big room for a bit, then tucked the back into bed. No go. The moment the lights went out again, the screams intensified – to those desperate pathetic hiccupping sobs.
There was only one plausible explanation. The boogieman has taken up residence in the boys’ room. Continue reading
It’s a new millennium. Our culture should grow and adapt as time passes. Today is Daylight Saving. We “sprung forward” at 2 a.m. – or rather, we simply skipped over that hour and went from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. I know, it’s dumb.
I am anti-Daylight Saving. Now, before the cantankerous caterwauling at me begins, it is not specifically Daylight Savings I am against. I hold firm the belief that our country should do away with the time change altogether. I propose we pick a time and stick with it. In the spirit of compromise, perhaps we can spring forward only a half hour this year. And then never change it again. Continue reading
I left the house without my keys this morning. I walked out the front door and stood in front of my car for a full minute, trying to process the problem facing me. Finally, it occurred to me that since the car was locked, I should find someway of altering that situation. I went back inside and promptly forgot why I’d done that.
Back in college, we used to joke that, “Sleep is a crutch!” We’d stay up until the wee hours of the morning talking, then drag ourselves – bleary-eyed – to any class that had the audacity to take place before noon. For two years, I participated in Children’s Theatre. This class required me to be present at 7 a.m., before we costumed up and went to perform teachable lessons at school assemblies around the Bay Area. That is the full extent of my memories of the program. I may have even slept-walked through a couple performances. (I do recall dressing up as a mama bear and a gypsy…)
Then I landed a job that required my tushy to be in my chair at my desk by 6 a.m. (NYSE hours). I still occasionally stayed up through the wee hours – but my definition of “wee hours” rapidly changed: any point on the clock involving double-digits. (In hindsight, I don’t think I’ll even specify between standard and military time.)
Interestingly enough, the muppets have been sleeping far more these days – practically through the night. We even had a stint from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. this week. But the stress and sleep deprivation of these past five months is starting to catch up with me. I am now fully aware of why they call it “mommy brain.”
A recent Yahoo! Health article points out some of the most common sleep misconceptions. Number one is that people can be “short sleepers.” The article goes on to say that the majority of adults need at least 7-8 hours of sleep, per night, to remain healthy. These scientists obviously do not have children.
According to BabyCenter.com, most muppet-aged babies (I’m averaging actual and adjusted ages) sleep a total of 12 to 15 hours a day, including nighttime sleep and naps. And, around three months, little ones begin to develop more of a regular sleep/wake cycle and no longer require as many midnight snacks.
But in addition to sleeping more at night, Search and Destroy are far more alert during the day. It’s awesome to see them looking around, wide-eyed, as they take in everything new to the world for them. I may complain about the exhaustion from being “on” 24/7, but their discoveries certainly put a new perspective on things.
I have no idea what I’m doing as a new mom. I’m sure being on high-alert in anticipation of their next adventure is what makes me tired – well, that waking up at their every movement to make sure they’re okay. But that absolutely must pale with the exhaustion from trying to learn how to live.
Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure their wonder of learning all things new and exciting includes the genetic predisposition of “Sleep is a crutch!” Why sleep when stuff might be happening?!
