Ode to Sleep

There is nothing like a sleeping child. Beyond the fact that watching a child sleep reminds one of the complete innocence and pure sweetness of children, it brings such peace to the household. And getting two children to sleep at the same time is even more magical for a parent. I adore my girls; I love spending time with them, I love playing with them, I love singing and dancing with them. However, I also love when they sleep and I get a minute or ten, or sometimes even twenty, to myself.

Sleep has often been elusive for me as a parent. Livy was just not a sleeper and continues to struggle with bedtimes and good quantities of restful sleep. After 3 years of long, brutal nights and bedtimes, I am beginning to accept that her body just does not need as much rest as others, like my own. The first year of her life was rough, with many long nights and painful hours spent just getting her to sleep. The idea of going through it again with a second child was frightening and overwhelming and it took us awhile to feel comfortable with the idea that we could even do it again.

Then along came Malia, the sleeper! Well, she's not a HUGE sleeper; she doesn't sleep 12 hours straight or take amazing naps. However, the girl can fall asleep on her own! And she doesn't like to nurse to sleep, except at bedtime! I didn't know what to do those first weeks when she refused to fall asleep nursing...it was all I knew how to do! In the hospital, she refused to sleep even the first night in her hospital "tub", so I thought for sure I was in trouble as she only wanted to cosleep. But that beautiful baby swing helped her fall asleep by herself for naps and I think it made all the difference in the world. She got used to falling asleep by herself and now she can put herself to sleep in her crib. Sure, I have to pat her bum or rub her back sometimes, and at bedtime, she still nurses to sleep most of the time. But overall, she is what I would call an "easy" sleeper. She actually wants to sleep.

Now, there was a time when I truly thought these "easy" sleepers were just figments of the imagination, meant to make parents feel dumb and incompetent. But now I realize that every kid is unique and an individual and there is little you can do to make a non-sleeper be a good sleeper. Being a big-time reader, I hardly am an advocate of book burning, but I truly want to burn any and all parenting books that claim your child can and should be taught to sleep. Burn 'em! What nasty, useless advice for desparate parents that feel so completely unprepared and overwhelmed with lack of sleep. And to think of all those poor babies who are subjected to cry-it-out and other harsh "sleep training" when they are not wired to handle such stress...ugh my heart breaks for them.