When My Kids Don’t Sleep

Alexander (not wanting to sleep-wearing gifted onesie by Pumpkin Baby)

…When the kids don’t sleep it’s AWFUL, horrendous, mood alteringly exhausting and with two kids aged 4 and 18 months respectively, this is not what I bargained for. When will they sleep?! When will I sleep for a full undisturbed night-when I ask you?! Please don’t say when they’re 18 *screams!?

I, make that we, don’t seem to make kids who sleep.

Let’s backtrack, my eldest Oliver has had chronic ear infections from 12 months old (colic as a newborn too-oh joy) neither which have been conducive in establishing a consistent sleep routine and the glue ear has gone on for years and years (feel for him so much), only improving as Oliver has gotten older with his last infection 6 months ago… Yes we have had some successfully sleepy nights just not always, not regularly and now the dreaded phase of nightmares have begun too (poor him, poor us, poor tired little brain cells)…

Now let’s move on to subject two: Alexander, a great (couldn’t believe our luck) sleepy baby to start (in fact both kids slept through beautifully when Alexander arrived) then teething hit at 4 months and never seemed to stopped and well, nights just aren’t fun anymore.

The thing is, my husband and I are not tough enough to let them cry it out (we tried and failed with Oliver as I wept endlessly) and yes we tried everything else in between, failing as we went (we are weak) concluding that sometimes to survive, a Queen size bed is the only way forward.

I should also add, I didn’t actually sleep through the night myself until school and I *cough might have crawled into my parents bed until I was 7, (sorry Mum and Dad) so maybe it’s hereditary-that vivid, active imagination and boundless energy (never wanting to miss out on life asleep) which I still sort of adhere to. Don’t get me wrong though, I now, flipping wholeheartedly love a good sleep now I just don’t get it

And you know what, over the years, my husband and I have been sleep-trained ourselves and have (urgh) gotten used to less sleep but when it’s crap, its pretty damn awful (and we share the sleep duties equally).

What helps? Good healthy, wholesome, low-carb food helps me (even when all I want is cake (bad sugar crashes on no sleep make everything worse but sometimes you just have to give in), lots of water, yoga, a run, if of course you’re not too blooming tired to do any of the above…. but of course nothing, nothing in the WORLD compares to actual deep, sweet sleep does it?!

So, writing this on a tiny amount of undisturbed sleep last night, I feel like a moody, disinterested, zombie-like wreck truth be told. If I sleep tonight, tomorrow I won’t at least. It’s that simple so here’s crossing fingers (and toes) for tonight!

Any tips?