I have a lot of friends with kids my kids age, and so naturally we talk and compare. Now, I know I should not compare...all kids are different, but it is so easy to do it. And this is what I have learned...My kids don't sleep!! How is it that they go to bed later than almost all of their little friends, yet they still wake up earlier?! My Sammie is in bed by 9:30 every night, some times we try for 9:00, but it doesn't happen too often. While she is in bed by 9:30, there are nights when we still hear her talking, or screaming, depending on the night, at 10:30 or 11:00. No matter what time this little beauty of mine falls asleep, it is almost guaranteed that she will be up at 7:00. Some times, if I am lucky, she'll sleep until 8:00, but that is pretty rare, and normally happens on the weekends when David is supposed to get up with the kids...go figure! And I am not talking about she is up and grumpy, she is up and ready for the day...talking and playing, laughing. Then there is nap time. If it was up to Samantha, she would not nap anymore. And some times, I do let her get away without napping, if I want her in bed early. Most of the time though, at 2:00, she is in her room for her nap. And like at bed time, she does spend a lot of time playing before she falls asleep. And you would think, since she only sleeps 8 or 9 hours at night, she would take long naps. Nope. 1 1/2 to 2 hours is the norm. And on the days she does take a longer nap, I don't know what to do with myself...oh wait, I do know what to do...I take care of Caleb, because he apparently feels that he does not need to nap...
That's right, my dear, sweet boy does not like napping. He does not realize that Mommy needs a break. Now, he does sleep better at night than Sammie ever did. He is in bed by 8:30 normally and wakes up once, maybe twice a night. Some times, he even sleeps through the night! And by "through the night" I mean he sleeps passed 4:00. And just like Sammie, no matter how the night goes, Caleb is up before 7:00 almost every morning...7:30 if I am really lucky. And he is ALL smiles. He is so excited when I walk in his room to get him. Nap time is not as predictable with Caleb. I have tried and tried to put his on a schedule, but I don't think it is possible. At least with Sammie, even though her naps were only 30 minutes long at this age, I knew when they were going to be. Caleb is so sporadic. You never know if it's going to be a 2 hour nap or a 20 minute nap. And you never know if it's going to be 2 naps for the day or 4. This is probably the most difficult part for me. I need, well, maybe not need, but I really like schedule in my life. I like to plan out my day and it is very difficult when I don't know when Caleb will nap. Especially since he does not like his carseat and more often than not, will stay awake when we are in the car driving somewhere. Even if he is tired, he would rather scream his head off than sleep. And if he does fall asleep in the car, the moment the car stops, he is awake again.
So, some times I wonder why I don't get as much done as other moms I know, but then I remember they all have at least 3 extra hours of baby free time than I do. And that makes me feel better about myself. :) Seriously, they have 2 hours to clean and 1 hour of mommy time. If I want mommy time, I gotta stay up until midnight or wake up at 5. Maybe it's just an excuse, but I don't care...I'm sticking with it. :)
And on a good note, I read an article the other day about gifted kids. One of the early signs of giftedness is that kids don't seem to need as much sleep as other kids. Maybe I was just blessed with 2 gifted kids. :) Either way, I love my kids and enjoy the all the time I get to spend with them, but seriously can not wait to get a full night of sleep and even maybe a little break during each day.
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