The Sleep Stickler

This post may perhaps be enjoyed in two viewings- one perusal of the photographs and another reading the text- for the pictures and words have absolutely nothing to do with one another. Except the human subjects. I have cute Bucket Boys.

I'm a bit of a tyrant when it comes to the boys' sleep. Probably to the point that it's annoying to most other people.

I rarely rarely rarely have them sleep anywhere other than their cribs (or pack'n'play on vacations). Hardly ever in the care seat, hardly ever in a stroller, hardly ever anywhere.

Why? Because I have to keep them happy and synchronized.

What do I mean by keep them happy? Well, if they don't sleep, they get cranky a lot faster. I like happy babies much better than cranky babies. And besides, they're doing a lot of growing, and growers need sleep!

What do I mean by keeping them synchronized? THEY HAVE TO BE ON THE SAME SCHEDULE! Seriously, if they weren't, I'd pull my hair out daily. I need them to fall asleep within minutes of each other. I need them to not wake each other up because they have different sleep needs.

So that translates to always providing a nice, calm environment for sleep.

Let me 'splain further. Say we were away for a long outing somewhere, expecting them to fall asleep in the stroller. In most cases, one baby would fall asleep long before the other and they probably wouldn't sleep as long as they need. And thus we behold cranky, out-of-synch babies. Sleep patterns for the rest of the day would be super whack.

(Not to mention, they always nurse after napping and finding a private place in a public venue to feed two wiggly babies is so... just... not fun)

That means we don't do a whole lot of long outings. We always plan out our excursions. Everything fits around their sleep schedule. Sometimes we miss out on activities, sometimes I'm a crazy woman trying to rush home so the boys can sleep. But it's so worth it to me.

You know, it's pretty funny that it's me being the Sleep Fanatic, because I have horrendous sleep habits myself. I always stay up to late. Every day I kick myself for not going to bed earlier.

Actually, these days, I have tried to go to bed earlier but am completely unable to fall asleep. Whether I go to bed at 10pm or 11:45, I won't be falling asleep before midnight (usually much after). It's lame, because it's not like I ever get to sleep in. Perhaps I'm trying to instill these habits in them so they don't become a poor adult sleeper like me.

I do wonder if I'd be such a Zzz's Zealot if I was dealing with only one baby. The whole synchronization issue would be moot. Yeah, I think I'd be more relaxed about it.

Sean would probably appreciate that. Then I wouldn't be making car alarm sounds so often, trying to keep babies awake as we're driving home. I don't think he values those noises.

As it is, I think I'm doing what's best for them by making sure they get good sleep. We could probably make an exception a little more often, because when I say we rarely do it, I do mean rare. I'm probably trying to protect my own stress levels as well as the boys' sleep.

But I'm okay with my Dreamtime Despot status. The boys show me their appreciation through their happy smiles throughout the well-rested day.