The Illusive Dream

There is no question that there are sleep issues in our lovely Casa de Chaos. I have documented some of the issues on the little blog. But seriously?!? Can’t we just get a good night sleep?

We have snorers. I am one of the worst offenders. I have woke myself up snoring. Yeah it’s bad. I am petrified of falling asleep around other people and snoring. Big Daddy took a video of me sleeping not too long ago and I have to say I was…Embarrassed? Mortified? Disgusted? Scared? All of the above? I can’t believe my family has to put up with that. But to be honest I come from a long line of loud snorers. My sister and I shared a bedroom that happened to be across the hall from my parent’s bedroom and there were many nights that she would be yelling at my Mom to try to have my Dad roll over so he would stop snoring…while we were trying to sleep. Big Daddy does a pretty good job in the snoring category himself. It wouldn’t be so bad, but he is one of those people that get in bed and fall right asleep…and starts snoring before I have a chance to fall asleep first. Rude.

We have teeth grinders. Can I tell you that it is the most disturbing and annoying sound EVER!?! And it can be heard from one side of the house to the other. Love you Big Daddy and Einstein, but can you say mouth guard?

We also have talkers. Don’t they talk enough while they are awake?!? I should be allowed a few hours of peace and quiet. A few weeks ago the kids wanted to have a family room sleep-over. Not a big deal. Big Daddy was travelling for business so it was just me and the kiddos. As I was starting to fall asleep I start hearing voices. Carrying on a conversation. In my house. At night. I knew it wasn’t the kids because I had checked on them and they were sound asleep. So I quietly get out of my bed to see what the heck is going on. And there in my family room are Einstein and Roo talking to each other…IN THEIR SLEEP! I don’t know if they were carrying on an actually conversation or what. But for the sweet love of Pete if you are asleep please stop talking!

We also have those that have a hard time falling asleep. From the time that Big J was a baby he had the toughest time just relaxing and falling asleep. I said I would never have let my kids sleep in my bed…well you know what they say about saying never. For the first few months of his life he literally slept on my chest. That was the only way I could get him to go to sleep and stay asleep. Then when he was too big to sleep on me I would rock him to sleep and put him in his crib. When we moved him to a regular bed I would lay down by him…for a couple of hours to get him to sleep and he would still wake up during the night. Then when Einstein was born I had both of them waking up at night. Big Daddy was working graveyards at the time and there were many nights he would come home for lunch in the middle of the night and I would be sleeping in the recliner with Einstein in one arm and Big J in the other…just because I could at least get a little sleep that way. I think I was maybe getting 3 hours of sleep a night for those first few months…and I thought I was going to die. At one point a few year ago I took Big J to the doctor because I was beginning to worry that he wasn’t getting enough sleep since it was still taking hours to fall asleep and he would wake up fairly early. They ran a few tests and the doctor said everything was fine, he was just one of the few people that didn’t need that much sleep. As he is getting older he does enjoy sleeping in…like most teenagers, so he is finally getting a little more sleep.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum we have Einstein that as soon as his head hits the pillow he is asleep. It’s almost freaky how fast he can fall asleep. On the down side he is like Big J and just doesn’t require that much sleep so he is an early riser. A very early riser. A very, very early riser. I am just grateful that he is a responsible early riser. He gets up and showers and is dressed long before he needs to be. With most kids you have to have a bedtime, well with Einstein we have to set limits to how early he can get out of bed.

We also have a couple that fall asleep quickly and like to sleep in. Roo is my champion sleeper. She lays down, goes right to sleep and just sleeps away…with a few conversations thrown in here and there. She wakes up in almost the same positions she falls asleep in. She is a pretty deep sleeper, the house could fall down and she would sleep right through it. And like her Mom it takes her awhile to really wake up and start her day. Ham is pretty good at going to sleep quickly also. He was the only baby that I swaddled and I think it has helped teach him to sleep better. He is also good at sleeping in. Gotta love that. I just wish he would sleep all night every night. He has a small problem with roaming around at night. But he is such a good snuggler I don’t always mind when he gets in bed with me.

And then there is LaLa… Dear, sweet LaLa. The child does not know how to sleep. She was a great sleeper as a baby. But sweet, fancy Moses the older she gets the worse she is. She doesn’t want to go to sleep. She doesn’t want to stay asleep. She doesn’t want to wake up. She doesn’t want to sleep alone, but if she sleeps with you she is more likely sleeping on you. She is the kid that needs a drink, then she needs to go potty, and then just one or two million questions. She has bad dreams and needs her Mom because she is scared. She has good dreams and needs her Mom because she is happy. When she does crawl in bed with us, rather than just snuggling in she decides that a king bed just isn’t quite big enough for the three of us. Not to mention the other night when she and Ham were playing tag team on me and both thought they would take turns sleeping in our bed and I woke up with both of them sleeping in there. And in my defense I do try to take them back to bed when they end up wandering into my bed…but give me a break, I am trying to get some sleep.

So finally I have had enough. There has got to be a better way to handle all of these crazy sleepers. And if maybe there was better sleep there would be less trauma and drama during the day…PLEASE. So I have started putting LaLa and Ham down to bed between 7 and 7:30. It’s been quite the adjustment for me. The other evening Ham was freaking out about going to bed…because the sun was still up. I still can’t just put them in their beds and say goodnight and walk away. So about 7 LaLa, Ham and I head to the girlies bedroom because they have a full size bed in there. We get all comfy, cozy and the kidlets fall asleep…fairly quickly I might add. Then I move Ham to his room and it’s time for Roo to crawl in bed with LaLa. The Boyz either read or play Wii until it is time for them to go to sleep. And things have been going a little better at the Casa…

Unless it is like tonight…When I lay down with the kidlets and we get all comfy, cozy and it isn’t just the kidlets that fall asleep. So I get a nice little nap…

And then I can’t sleep when it is time for me to go to bed…Gah!

Oh and did I mention why LaLa and her crazy nonsleeping habits drive me insane?

Because she is just like her Momma!

Except when it comes to taking naps.

Oh how I love me a little nap.