Elusive – I’ll Sleep When I am Dead
Sleep eludes me almost every night. Sleep eludes my children almost every nap time. 🙂
Sleep is elusive.
Our bodies need rest. Our minds need rest. I need rest.
My poor boys do not know how to sleep through the night. I am pretty sure they get their night owl status from my husband and their restless brain syndrome from me. They are doomed.
People ask me all the time how I keep going on such little sleep, I smile and say, “I’ll sleep when I am dead.” We laugh and then I worry that might actually be when I truly am able to find rest.
I have done a lot of research on parenting and sleeping and even more research on how to get my body to be at rest. All of the research suggests limiting caffeine and sugar intake, establish bedtime routines, and avoid stimulating media devices before bed. Tried all of these, but the lack of caffeine may kill me before the lack of sleep.
The bedtime routine seems to make my kids crazier. The second I mention baths, pajamas, or bedtime all hell breaks loose and my sweet angels are hanging from the ceiling fan throwing down remnants of their uneaten suppers. It is hard to find a restful state in this situation.
When I talk to other parents and my pediatrician about getting them to sleep, everyone has advice or ideas. We welcome any and all ideas, but my favorite ones involve my friends taking my kids for the night so I can get some sleep. (For some reason, my kids will sleep anywhere but at home.) The problem with this idea is that when my kids are gone, I still can’t sleep.
What is wrong with me????!!??! Continue reading “Elusive – I’ll Sleep When I am Dead”