Posts
That's because I kept my two-year old with me, thinking that he, I, and the baby could all get a little sleep. Wrong. For the hour slot that we had, he cried and threw a royal fit on the stairs because he wanted to be with his brothers. He ended up falling asleep...right when I needed to leave to pick the boys up. Nap derailed.
Especially with a newborn baby (and the lack of sleep that accompanies it), I am working hard on instituting a quiet hour rule in the house in the afternoon. The only problem with that is that the boys (ages 6, 4, and 2) all fall at different points on the obedience spectrum. Mom can't rest when she's worried about what sort of mischief they could be getting into (they've done some doozies in moments unsupervised).
So today, in a classic mom's-in-need-of-mercy moment, I did the only thing I could think to do to keep from snapping: call the daycare and see if I could drop off my children for a wee little bit.
When I picked up the boys, we had a long talk about obedience and adhering to the quiet time rule from here on out. Unfortunately, to my disadvantage, they really enjoyed the drop-in daycare (complete with a giant ball pit). One clever son asked, "So Mom, if we get into mischief again when we should be having quiet time, will we get to go back to [said daycare.]" Nice try, son.
The baby's sleeping. I'm going to try to get some rest now, too...
If you've also been there, I'd love to hear about the desperate measures you've gone to in order to get some rest in your most sleep-deprived moments. One mom friend of many littles told me once that she used to barricade a door with a mattress and lay on the mattress while her children played inside the room. She could rest knowing they were safe and wouldn't be able to get out. Creative idea.
I remember crying from frustration when my baby and toddler would not sleep at the same time. I had a corner of my living room where we kept some toys in a couple of large boxes. On a few occasions I was so desperate for a nap that, similar to the mom you told about, I laid across the opening to the corner while the baby played (he had to crawl over me to get out) during the toddler's naptime.
ReplyDeleteI realize I only had two, but those sleep-starved days passed all too quickly. Hopefully you can love on those babies even in your sleepy stupor. :-)
We were on a weekend getaway and were exhausted after being out all day so we splurged on a pay-per-view movie for the kids at the hotel and my husband and I laid down for a nap. Well while we were sleeping my son (7 at the time) decided they wanted to watch a different movie. Needless to say I was a little shocked at the $30 bill upon checkout, but it was one of the best naps ever.
ReplyDeleteSleep deprivation is definitely a cause of snappy/emotional moms - I know! Noelle was (and is) a terrible sleeper and I'm a bad napper...between the two of us, I think I was a mess for a while. I don't know if you'd be interested in starting a co-op, but it saves a LOT of $$ and is a great, trusted resource: http://wineglasslipper.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/babysitting-co-op/ Good luck, Cheryl Hugs!OOOO
ReplyDeleteNot creative, but sometimes a movie does the trick at my house--my kids don't MOVE if there's something playing on the screen. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteA friend hires a pre- teen (who she knows and trusts) to come to her house after school (she gets out early) and the girl plays in the basement with the kids while the mom naps upstairs. Another friend has joined a babysitting coop.
ReplyDelete