My advice to all new moms….
SLEEP.
When we had Greyson our lives completely changed. We no longer stayed out late; we often turned down invitations to do things that we really wanted to do because they interfered with nap time, our lives revolved around his sleep patterns.
I know a lot of parents out there will disagree with me, and I too feel that at times, I probably was a little over obsessed with his schedule, on the other hand though, I have an almost 3 year old who still takes a 2-3 hour nap each day and sleeps 12 hours at night. (Nice right?) I also feel that because Greyson sleeps (a lot) he’s the laid back, happy child that he is. It’s not often but occasionally he’ll miss his nap, or have a few days in a row where he’s up early and get’s to bed late, and when that happens he is a completely different child. He becomes loud and cranky, into everything, fights us at every turn, his appetite for healthy food diminishes and he wants to live on junk food, and he’s moody and cries and refuses to listen. He’s like a typical 2 year old!!! I’ve also noticed that the less nap he has during the day, the less sleep he gets at night. One would think that skipping naps would make him more tired and quicker to get into bed, but just the opposite happens.
So my theory, if you’re still with me, is let your child sleep. In fact enforce that your child sleeps. There have been several times (about every 6 months or so) that Greyson goes through a week or so of trying to give up some of his sleeping time, and I’ve found that it’s those weeks that we really need to stay on schedule, that I’m putting in the time rocking him to sleep or laying down with him if need be to keep him on that sleeping schedule, because honestly we BOTH need it. He needs the rest and I know that I need the down time too! I think the terrible two’s, three’s, four’s, twelve’s! are because our kids are not getting enough sleep, our children are so busy and us parents are so busy that we’re neglecting one of the most important things our child needs. We’d never let them go all day without enough food or water, so why let them go without enough sleep?
So for us, naps are here to stay!
SLEEP.
When we had Greyson our lives completely changed. We no longer stayed out late; we often turned down invitations to do things that we really wanted to do because they interfered with nap time, our lives revolved around his sleep patterns.
I know a lot of parents out there will disagree with me, and I too feel that at times, I probably was a little over obsessed with his schedule, on the other hand though, I have an almost 3 year old who still takes a 2-3 hour nap each day and sleeps 12 hours at night. (Nice right?) I also feel that because Greyson sleeps (a lot) he’s the laid back, happy child that he is. It’s not often but occasionally he’ll miss his nap, or have a few days in a row where he’s up early and get’s to bed late, and when that happens he is a completely different child. He becomes loud and cranky, into everything, fights us at every turn, his appetite for healthy food diminishes and he wants to live on junk food, and he’s moody and cries and refuses to listen. He’s like a typical 2 year old!!! I’ve also noticed that the less nap he has during the day, the less sleep he gets at night. One would think that skipping naps would make him more tired and quicker to get into bed, but just the opposite happens.
So my theory, if you’re still with me, is let your child sleep. In fact enforce that your child sleeps. There have been several times (about every 6 months or so) that Greyson goes through a week or so of trying to give up some of his sleeping time, and I’ve found that it’s those weeks that we really need to stay on schedule, that I’m putting in the time rocking him to sleep or laying down with him if need be to keep him on that sleeping schedule, because honestly we BOTH need it. He needs the rest and I know that I need the down time too! I think the terrible two’s, three’s, four’s, twelve’s! are because our kids are not getting enough sleep, our children are so busy and us parents are so busy that we’re neglecting one of the most important things our child needs. We’d never let them go all day without enough food or water, so why let them go without enough sleep?
So for us, naps are here to stay!
I agree! Look at those eye lashes!
ReplyDeleteWhy dont most girls have eyelashes like those! I love you Greyson! You are my sweet little Grandson. Are you playing with your race car yellow flash?
Love Grandma