As I was getting ready to write a blog, on a totally different subject, my toddler gave me all the ques that he is getting tired and sleepy, just in time for his nap. Or so I thought. Hence, my sentence:
"Let's go for a nap."
must have been lost in translation to baby language, because I swear he heard:
"Let's go jump on the bed, until I cry or pass out, probably both!"
Sleep like a baby?
If just one more person says "sleep like a baby" I will lose it. I don't want to sleep like a baby, I want to sleep like my husband, that lucky bas....
Anaway,
in the beginning babies are still accommodating to life outside the womb. In there it's dark, warm and quite noisy. Their circadian rhythm or internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, is not established yet. They don't really know when it's dark it's night (you should sleep) and vice versa.
Ok, when they do get used to it (with your help), there is also a certain defense mechanism that babies have, preventing them from falling in to deep sleep and essentially waking them up to feed, so their blood sugar levels don't drop too low.
If all that wasn't enough they go through another phase, called sleep regression. It happens a few times (oh, how lucky we are), and it's a normal part of brain in development stage. Then babies start to sleep more like us, waking up, turning around and continuing to sleep (or not).
To add to all this, when their teeth are growing, discomfort from that pain causes them to wake up more, but that is totally understandable.
What's the problem?
When you are like me and you love to sleep, you would do almost anything in an effort to put your baby to sleep. Not only that, but to stay asleep.
The problem is, some kids (like mine), just don't want to fall asleep. Even when they are super tired, not hungry and when you follow a routine to help them fall asleep, they will still fight it. Why?
There are two theories:
They don't want to miss out on anything - and I have to say, I understand this one. Leaving a good party, to go to bed, was never my cup of tea.
They are afraid of letting go - so you want to say that we are born as a control freaks, who can't relax when something is not under their control? Scary..
In the mean time, my little one is already up and ready to explore, learn but most of all get as dirty as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Boys will be boys!
With love,
(sleep deprived) Tamara