The Sleep Battle: Will This War Ever Be Won?
I got kicked in the nose. Time: 1:53 a.m. Place: My bed. Alleged Offender: My kid.
Sound familiar?
Hey fellow moms, what is it with this sleep, or lack of sleep, thing? He’s almost three and we’re still struggling with sleep issues. He used to be a good sleeper, but that was ages ago. Now going to bed is increasingly a chore because all he wants to do is play with mom and dad, even pulls out the “I miss you” line which yanks at ye olde heart strings.
Then once he’s down, he gets up in the middle of the night, probably three times a week. We try not to bring him into our bed, but sometimes you know that you’ve got a tough day tomorrow at work and you’re already at the end of your rope, and you just. need. sleep. He comes into our bed once a week and last week I slept on his floor one night. (My back loved that.)
Most of my mommy friends stay at home or as I prefer to call them: Work Inside The Home. Most of their kids don’t do this. I know we shouldn’t compare our kids to other kids, each one is different yadda,yadda,yadda, but the truth is we do. So anyway, most of them don’t have this issue. Many of the working moms I do know struggle with this problem.
It all makes me wonder if it’s because moms who work inside the home are able to be tougher on letting their kid just cry for an hour or two. It sucks if you’re tired all day and home alone with the kid. You’re grumpy and struggling not to kill them. I’ve been there. However, when I’m going into work the next day, I’m grumpy, struggling and I could screw something up, causing even more ramifications later in the week.
I obviously don’t have a solution, or I would have written a post about that. I am just curious as to if anyone’s has noticed that same difference or if it’s just that I need to get a better balance of friends who work inside the home vs. outside the home. Or maybe I just need to stop comparing my kid’s sleeping habits to others, accept that this is how things are and suck it up.
Thoughts?
My three year old daughter still does this sometimes, and I work inside the home. Maybe they’ll grow out of it? Let’s hope so!
Yes! I hope so too! I wonder if it eventally gets better then you start having sleepless nights again when they’re teenagers… (shutter.) I’m not ready to think of my little guy as a teen.
Letting your child cry themselves to sleep is no solution I would recommend. I went with my gut and either sat with my girls until they fell asleep again or took them into my bed. My 5 year old now sleeps through even if I play a trumpet next to her bed. The three year old takes pride in staying in her own bed for as long as possible, but I never say she can’t come to ours. It’s a phase that will pass and it’s part of making them feel secure..that’s what I think anyway.
Good points, thanks for the comment! We’ve tried different things, but usually consistency and letting him cry for a bit while checking with him to remind him we’re here so he’s not scared and yet giving him boundaries seems to have the most success. It’s when we’re zonked and fall through on the consistency angle that we lose ground.