Last Friday was World Sleep Day. Yes, it’s an actual thing. I love the idea of an entire day dedicated to sleep so much, that I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it!
Where it all started
I was a teenager when I began to appreciate the wonder of sleep. I remember those high school mornings… my mom would realize that the usual kiss on the cheek + “it’s time to wake up now” routine wasn’t getting the desired results… it was at this point that she would go full savage, pulling the curtains open to let the sun in. I’d be there, shrieking and frantically pulling the duvet over my head, as if I’d burst into flames were the sunlight to come in contact with my skin.
I must be getting old
As an adult – and parent – I appreciate it even more. There was this thing I said a while ago, and my child thinks it’s hilarious. We were at the salon, and I joked (except it wasn’t entirely a joke) that ever since the day I turned thirty five (last year), I could literally fall asleep anytime, anywhere.
I’ve never been a day sleeper – not as a teenager, nor as a new mom when my own mom would tell me to “sleep when baby sleeps”. I would rather lay there staring at her, or take photos of her sleeping (obsessed much?), or get some housework done. Then thirty five rolled around, and all of that changed – I’ve actually dozed off in the middle of the day, while sitting on the couch… like an old person! 😱
Me: I need a nap. Zee: Naps are for quitters.
Of course by the time I turned thirty five, the little person was seven and a half years old, and hadn’t taken a daytime nap in exactly four years. She’s always been a great sleeper (she gets that from me ?) – she’s slept right through the night since she was a few months old; and she never skipped her daily daytime nap.
At exactly three and a half years of age however, she decided that it was time to retire the good ol’ daytime nap… for good. Man, those naps were glorious – she could go for almost three hours sometimes, wake up smiling and happy, and still sleep like an absolute beauty again at night. Do you know how much you can get done when a child sleeps that well during the day?
Zee now gets through an entire day at 100% energy, and thinks that I’m the funniest (silliest?) person alive when I suggest that she take a daytime nap.
So maybe it’s my fault
Then there’s me and my inability to not feel ALL the mom guilt. Although Zee is an amazing little person, who can keep herself busy… and although she is a child who notices when I’m looking like a bit of a mombie, and even gently suggests that I go lie down, I still suffer from major mom guilt at the mere thought of taking a nap while my child is all alone.
So I guess what we’ve learned from all of this is 1: my daytime sleep deprivation is pretty much self-inflicted; 2: I will only experience the bliss that is a daytime nap when Zee accepts just how wonderful a thing it is, and agrees to have a snooze at the same time… it’s going to be a long wait.
What is it with kids and sleep though? It’s like they think they’re going to miss out on all kinds of awesome stuff if they give in to sleep. Mine has even said as much. “Sleep is boring mom. I could be doing other fun things!” Are your kids the same way? What cheeky “explanations” have you received regarding why they won’t sleep?
MomOfTwoLittleGirls
This is so me. I LOVE sleep! What I would do for a night of interrupted sleep where I could wake up when I was ready to ?
Haha… I love that you totally get it! Also, I really hope you get to have that uninterrupted night of sleep soon! ?
Me too! I could sleep all day everyday. I literally day dream of sleeping when I’m at work.
Lol… I know what you mean, it’s the one thing I’m always day dreaming about too! ?
I never use to nap! Told my husband it’s for old people…. years later and of cause 4 kids later I so regret the years I didn’t use to nap! ?
That’s exactly what I used to say! ?
Uh I feel you! I would give anything for a decent night sleep. I haven’t slept in over 10 months now thanks to a certain little monkey! #blogcrush
Haha… oh the things we never knew to appreciate until we became moms! ?
I would love to take a nice long nap as well! <3 #BlogCrush
Ahh that would be wonderful ?
Interesting post. World Sleep Day felt like a kick in the teeth for me because I haven’t slept properly since I was in my second trimester back in 2016, I’m not even exaggerating by the way as have been blessed with a baby who doesn’t sleep well at night. Although her naps are fine, I use that time to get on with housework or work on my blog! #blogcrush
Soffy // themumaffairs.blogspot.com
Oh dear… I hope her night sleeping pattern gets better soon, so you can finally remember what it’s like to have a proper night’s sleep! x
My husband always tells me to nap when the child is napping, but if I lay down, I just lie there thinking of all the things I could be getting done! I’m sure I’ll regret it later on, but for now, I’ll get things done and use my baby as my drive to stay awake!
#BlogCrush
You sound exactly like me! Why do we do this to ourselves?? ?
I struggle to nap in the day and when I do I am SO grumpy!
None of my kids were big nappers and all dropped the day nap pretty early.
But now my two teens are catching up – they can (and do) literally sleep all day!
Haha… I think I may be going through a teenage phase again then, because I’m pretty sure I could sleep all day too given the chance! ?
Oh yes, my eldest is a total no-sleeper. I cannot wait for the day she wants to sleep with me. Daniel still into a full 2 hr nap during the day – which because she is 11 and can actually watch a movie by herself for an hour I can enjoy. Something tells me though, that by the time she wants to sleep, DJ will be past his sleeping stages and I will be not sleeping either! xx
Enjoy the naps while you can!! ? xx
I’m a sleep fiend too. My daughter’s naps aresuper irregular (she’s just turned 3) and sometimes she skips them altogether. I must admit, when I’m really close to the wire, I’ve snuggled up on the sofa, with her sitting in the crook of my belly watching TV, and had a cheeky 20mins nap. It’s not often I can get away with it though! #BlogCrush
I like that idea of a quick nap while she catches her fave cartoons… must try!! ?
Ah I love a good sleep. I’ve never been one for day time naps feeling sick if I did happen to fall asleep during the day but getting older and having a condition make it easier to nap. #BlogCrush
There’s really nothing quite like a good sleep ?
I get so exhausted so easily these days. Isn’t it frustrating when your husband falls asleep after a few seconds?! I struggle to nap – it must be a skill I’ve never learnt. If you can, you really should go for it – and enjoy it!! x
My eldest daughter refuses to tell me anything about her day at school when I pick her up, come to bedtime however she wants to spend house chatting about the picture she drew or how EXACTLY she cut out a chickens beak from cardboard at school. She will do anything to avoid going to sleep!! #blogcrush
I can honestly say sleep has never been the same since I had kids. Even now, I wake and get up early because I can’t sleep beyond a certain point. And I also wake up easily in the night. #BlogCrush
I use to enjoy taking an afternoon nap especially on a Sunday but those days are long gone since I had kids. The older kids get they no longer want to nap in the afternoon. My girls always moan when I feel that they had a busy day and need to nap a bit. According to them napping is for old people. At least when it comes to 19h30 in the evening they are so knackered – so I guess it works out well then.#blogcrush
I love my sleep too but I can’t just nap easily in the afternoon. Also Nicky just climbs all over me and doesn’t let me sleep. I hat the fact that my husband can nap on the weekend and I can’t.
These days he sleeps mostly ok. But we have the odd night we he doesn’t . And he is an early riser. Sigh…
Same here! I deeply regret all the naps I refused to take as a child. I could really use them now.
I didn’t appreciate my daytime naps until I had a second child…you can’t nap with a baby when you have a toddler ?? And sleep is one of my favouritest things to do!!!! #lekkerlinky
Lady…I would love a nap every now and then. BUT with two kids in tow it’s a little tricky. My Dude has a saying “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. I’ll just leave that here so you can figure out for yourself why he is the energizer bunny in the house 🙂 Me…I feel like I’ve won the lottery when my kids wake up after 7am! This is a total win for me. #LekkerLinky
I never used to sleep in the day (unless I was ill), but now I fall asleep as soon as I sit down! Haha. But yeah I have all the mum guilt too. Aaargh! #blogcrush
I need a nap too… But there is no way that M will let that happen. I feel your pain. 🙂 #Lekkerlinky
I love day sleeping. I am a napping champion! #GlobalBlogging
Hang in there … she will be a tired teenager soon. My mom was pretty savage with me too! ?
#lekkerlinky
Back from #blogcrush reply on 30 March #lekkerlinky
Napping is for quitters… I love that. I am an extremist I either nap for days or I am like there is no time sleep in general. Nothing like a rest in the afternoon.
Oh how I would live for a nap right now! What a great post! 20 minutes, that ‘s all I need! #blogcrush
I can SO SO relate to this Charlene. Man how i love a good nap. Connor is 4 and slowly starting to nap less and less on weekends, which isn’t great news for us. But come bed time and i’m wide awake and torturing myself at all crazy hours, waking up tired again in the morning with no chance of a nap. Man oh man. The struggle. Haha #lekkerlinky
I still love the ‘full savage’ comment. I can’t wait to do this to my little sleep-thieves! #itsok
I also love my sleep, unfortunately since suffering a stroke which has left me disabled, I struggle to get to sleep, as I find it difficult to get comfortable #itsok@_karendennis
Oh I would probably kill for a full day’s sleep – is that allowed on #worldsleepday?! I do miss sleep! Thanks so much for joining us this week, ace post! #ItsOK xx
Yesterday, at work, I napped for my lunch hour. I set my iphone alarm and was out in less than :30 seconds. It was the best thing I could have done, and it makes me wonder how I would feel now if I had never said, No! I’m not tired! to my parents for all those years. Wasted naps, never to return… the tears… #itsOK xoxo