Friday, July 18, 2008
Sleep = important
The girls made letters for their parents today. They will be waiting for you (parents) when you get home. I don't know what's inside them, because I was showering during the process.
After getting showered and dressed, I listened to Thing 3's internal dialogue (which is very much NOT internal at her age) as she walked to her bedroom to get dressed. "I'm gonna see mama soon. She's going to HUUUUUG me and KISSSS me, because she loves me! ... 'Oh, there you are!' 'Yeah, I'm here.' 'Did you have fun?' 'Yeah, I did.' 'Did you miss me?' 'Yeah'" Very sweet.
Yesterday's lesson: sleep is important.
Two days ago I mistakenly allowed Thing 1 & 2 to stay up until the VERY last minute that was still considered "bed time." I figured the next day was sleep-in day, after all. I forgot that they weren't likely to sleep in with all the excitement of new people in the house. Ooops. Sure enough, yesterday morning, E (not used to this northern climate and the early sunrise) woke up at 6 am, ready to start the day. Within 20 or 25 minutes, EVERYONE was awake and playing. Thing 2 normally sleeps until 8 or so, so this was a problem. Predictably, melt-down by Thing 2 at 1:30 pm.
Quiet time does wonders. It's like a giant "reset" button. Thing 2 didn't sleep, nor did Thing 1, but after half an hour of "you must be quiet so the little ones can sleep," both were much happier. And Thing 3 and E were positively pleasant after the nap. That said, maybe it was my nap that did the trick. The world looked much more pleasant afterwards.
So, bed time routines started earlier last night. And we hung a quilt over the window in E's room so that the morning sun would not wake her prematurely. It worked, mostly. E slept until just before 7. Thing 1 got up at 6:30 and woke up Thing 2 by accident (Thing 2 says she was already awake) but Thing 3 also slept later, making the day much better.
After getting showered and dressed, I listened to Thing 3's internal dialogue (which is very much NOT internal at her age) as she walked to her bedroom to get dressed. "I'm gonna see mama soon. She's going to HUUUUUG me and KISSSS me, because she loves me! ... 'Oh, there you are!' 'Yeah, I'm here.' 'Did you have fun?' 'Yeah, I did.' 'Did you miss me?' 'Yeah'" Very sweet.
Yesterday's lesson: sleep is important.
Two days ago I mistakenly allowed Thing 1 & 2 to stay up until the VERY last minute that was still considered "bed time." I figured the next day was sleep-in day, after all. I forgot that they weren't likely to sleep in with all the excitement of new people in the house. Ooops. Sure enough, yesterday morning, E (not used to this northern climate and the early sunrise) woke up at 6 am, ready to start the day. Within 20 or 25 minutes, EVERYONE was awake and playing. Thing 2 normally sleeps until 8 or so, so this was a problem. Predictably, melt-down by Thing 2 at 1:30 pm.
Quiet time does wonders. It's like a giant "reset" button. Thing 2 didn't sleep, nor did Thing 1, but after half an hour of "you must be quiet so the little ones can sleep," both were much happier. And Thing 3 and E were positively pleasant after the nap. That said, maybe it was my nap that did the trick. The world looked much more pleasant afterwards.
So, bed time routines started earlier last night. And we hung a quilt over the window in E's room so that the morning sun would not wake her prematurely. It worked, mostly. E slept until just before 7. Thing 1 got up at 6:30 and woke up Thing 2 by accident (Thing 2 says she was already awake) but Thing 3 also slept later, making the day much better.
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