victory for violet: More coffee please

One of the biggest issues new moms complain about is lack of sleep, yet it seems most are hesitant to admit their child is anything but a perfect sleeper. No one wants to be seen as a " bad mom" or to be doing something that isn't "normal". I have no problem admitting I am tired! Of course it is attributed to our beautiful angels, but heck I'll sleep when their grown up!At what point is a continuously tired state now considered your new normal? I often dream about 10 6 straight hours of continuous, uninterrupted sleep. I think back to my early 20s and wonder how I could function on 4-5 hours of sleep quite often? I guess function is a relative term. I had a lot fewer responsibilities.

I have now been a mother for 37 official months. We all know you don't sleep well your last 2 or 3 months of pregnancy, so I'll just round and say it's been about 40 months since I had an amazing amount of sleep for any length of time. That is a LONG time! I'm not griping, in fact (it is almost comical) I find it interesting how little sleep we can go on, and our bodies just seem to adapt.

Both my girls were decent sleepers as newborns, and since sleeping through the night is considered sleeping a 5 hour stretch, both did so at a young age. However, then the teething and separation anxiety began for Ava around 9 months and she was waking up again. Violet still eats once, sometimes twice during the night and has rarely slept more then 4 hours in her crib at night. Could all this have been different? Sure, with some work, and a lot of tears. Sleep training, "crying it out" etc is a controversial subject among moms everywhere. While it works for some, and not others the one constant seems to be if you stick it out, it works. I did it with Ava during nap time when she was younger, and it was hard, but it worked, and quickly.Then toddler hood happened, and Ava transitioned into a bigger bed and potty trained within the same month. I thought I was helping her progress, while also preparing for her baby sister, but it actually regressed her sleeping habits. Sleep training part deux was not about to happen while I was 9 months pregnant, nor with a new baby. So we adapted to her mid-night wakings and kept hoping it would stop. It started getting better...

Ava sound asleep in her own bed at the old house

During one of her "cry it out" tantrums

Then a few months later we moved, and it spiraled back out of routine again. New house, new room, new route to mom and dad's room. Change can be a bad thing for wee ones. Once again we adapted, hoping she would quickly get into a new routine. 11 months later and we are closer to a full night of sleep for everyone, just the occasional mishaps.

Still, I think we have it good. No matter how long they sleep or when they go to bed, my kids have never been early risers. For that I am grateful, as I myself have always hated mornings. I know kids who get up as early as 5 or 6, for the day, even on weekends. No thank you. And then I know other kids who go to bed at 6pm and sleep 12-13 hours straight. So it seems the sleeping patterns are as varied as their personality types, or hair colors.

So Sleep wherever you want, just sleep comfortably!

One of Violet's favorite places to sleep as a baby

Ava snuggled on the couch

Ava's favorite place to sleep as a baby

Stroller rides can be exhausting too

So here we are today with a 3 year old and a 14 month old, who more often then not wake up in our bed with us. For us that is ~~fine~~ comforting! It may not work for everyone, and might not been seen as acceptable, but it works for us..for now!