Why? Well, we live in a busy world where we're pushed to "keep up with the Jonses'" activity level. There are so many activities to do and TV shows to watch and websites to keep up on.... and then along comes a baby. At first he's up several times at night to eat, but even when he settles in for some good solid nights of sleep, all that baby care we've done during the day means postponing our "me time" and "us time" until after he's in bed. It can all add up to a late night for Mom and Dad.
What's the problem with that? Well most little ones are up with the sun, and that means Mom and Dad are too, whether they got enough sleep or not... and studies show most of us don't get enough. Sleep deprived parents are low on patience, focus, and cheerfulness. That means parenting becomes a chore that we're really not doing as well as we could. If parenting isn't fun almost all of the time, Dr. Wilkoff says that either parents or children or both probably aren't getting enough rest.
My husband and I have been under the whether these past few days and that gives me a newfound appreciation for the rest and energy I normally get. We haven't slept really well and that's rough on family life. Playing with Baby isn't as fun. It's also harder to make good judgments about proactively enforcing discipline when we're tired.
What's the answer? I'm happy to say we already do what Dr. Wilkoff recommends in Is My Child Overtired?
We get Junior in bed by 7 and then are asleep by 9 or 10 ourselves. This allows us time alone together to refresh our marriage and plenty of time to sleep as well. The "run down" feeling we have right now is thankfully temporary.RESOURCES
Is My Child Overtired?: The Sleep Solution for Raising Happier, Healthier Children
On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant The Gift of Nighttime Sleep
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