Sleeping-In

Young children and sleeping-in are definitely mutually exclusive events, at least on a regular basis anyway! Parents of babies and toddlers will sympathise ... and I can already hear those of you with older children saying 'Just you wait, it won't be long until you struggle to get your girls out of bed in the morning'!

Abigail has gone through stages of sleeping in til 8am and this will last for a month or two and then it will be 6.15am for a couple of months and then 7.30am. With no rhyme nor reason for the changes or for the length of time that hour will stick. On weekdays, both Mark and I are up at 6am and so it's not really a bother when they wake up, as long as it's not before the alarm goes off ... but at the weekend we hope for something of the later variety!

Naomi's sleep has been so totally random and unlike her sister's, that still, 13 months into her life, we have very little clue from minute to minute what her sleep patterns are going to be, day or night; let alone whether we'll be treated to a lie-in when the opportunity arises! With a lot less sleep during the night-time hours for her and subsequently us, it isn't unusual for either me or Mark to fall asleep on the sofa cuddling her.

One morning last week, Abigail didn't crawl out of bed until almost 9am. I have to admit, I did peek in once or twice just to check that I could see the rise and fall of her breathing as it was so out of the ordinary! Then yesterday, Naomi didn't call out or wake up until 8.20am. That really was a surprise and a shame they couldn't both synchronise ... and for it not to have been the weekend (while I'm putting in my preferences!). I know, I know, in time!

Having said that, this past weekend I did get a little taste of what is to come. On Saturday, my birthday, I woke up naturally, before the rest of the household, for the first time in forever. It was 6.30am but it was lovely just to lay peacefully in bed for a short while, without the demands of one, two or three other family members! In fact, as the rest of them gradually woke up, we all hung out in bed together being goofy and enjoyed opening my birthday cards and pressies (Abigail & Naomi were very enthusiastic helpers!) before finally getting up.

On Sunday, I woke up naturally again (at the same early hour). Wow, two mornings in a row! Even though Naomi didn't sleep in much later, she soon zonked out again when I brought her in to lay by me and I enjoyed another hour or so just dozing and reading. It really was an absolute treat, the perfect way (for me anyway!) to start the day. I'm just really hoping that this will change from being the exception to the rule rather than an unexpected pleasure ... and then I will need to work on waking up naturally at a later hour too!