Monday 8 July 2013

Sleep, where are you??

I have always been a firm believer of routine with my children. On school days I wake them up at the same time, they have meals at certain times (give or take half hour) and they go to bed at the same time every day. This may not work for everyone but it works in our household.

At bed time the kids go to bed in age order, from youngest to oldest. Layla is first at 6.15pm, Gracie is next at 6.30pm, then Freya at 7pm and lastly Elise at 7.30pm, this means they are all getting atleast 11 hours of sleep each night.

Most mornings they wake up happy and refreshed and I always find myself wishing I could wake up feeling the same. Instead I will wake up with a grumpy face and you probably won't get a proper conversation from me for atleast half an hour after that, caffeine is my friend. People always tell me how smiley I am in the mornings and how I look so awake, let me tell you make up works wonders, you would not want to see my morning face, think scary movie!!! Now if only I could have that afternoon nap, well if the baby is allowed too.....



Now I am my own worst enemy, I know if I were to get more sleep then I probably would wake up in a slightly better mood, not too much better though because lets be honest, as adults we know mornings really suck. This is is where the problem lies, I have always had a huge problem with falling asleep.

A normal night will see me going up to bed with Daddy Hazelden around 10pm. He is the complete opposite to me and has no problem with falling asleep, literally as soon as his head hits the pillow, he is out like a light, snoring VERY loudly. I am his opposite, it can take me a good hour to drop off to sleep, I find myself clock watching, it is like my brain won't shut down, this is my first hurdle.

The second hurdle, I can't seem to ignore the snoring, I don't want to wear ear plugs for fear that I a) wouldn't hear the kids b) I wouldn't hear the alarm in the morning, but what else can I do to drown out the dreadful noise??

The third hurdle, well that would be me. I am a massive book worm, I read atleast 5 books a week, I am one of these people that can't put a book down once I've started it. This can see me sitting up until 2/3 in the morning because I just have to finish it and with Daddy Hazelden's alarm going off at 5.45am I am left with minimal time to sleep.

And the fourth hurdle, I am a really light sleeper. This means that any noise wakes me up and then I am back to the initial problem that it takes me an age to get back to sleep, then I start listening to the snoring, oh and then I'll pick up a book in hopes that I will get sleepy. You get the idea, bit of a viscious circle sometimes.

It all has me wondering, dangerous thing that!! If I were to get myself into a routine like the kids, do you think that eventually I would settle into being able to just fall asleep instantly, could I train myself to sleep well?? Daddy Hazelden seems to think not, he thinks this is just how I am and that I can function on little sleep, in a way he is right because I do just get on with my day regardless of how much sleep I've had but I just always find myself needing to catch up on that missing sleep.

So what about you lovely readers, do you get a good nights sleep, do you have a bed time routine yourself, any top tips for a sleepy mum??

xxxx

10 comments:

  1. no caffeine after tea time is suppose to help, so warm milky caffeine free coffee may be worth a try. They say giving yourself time to wind down, so maybe between say 9 or 9.30 to 10 you could go and sit in bed and read instead of tv watching/blogging (downside of that is less time with daddy).
    I found relaxation tapes ( modern equivalent a mp3 file) very very handy in teaching me to relax, how to switch the brain and the body off, and so helping with dropping off. Most of the ones I have found were approx 20 mins long, and believe me in the 1st month you will listen to it 4,5,6 times before you drop off, now I never hear the end of it as always asleep before it finishes.
    Last option I can think off is audio books, get yourself a sound pillow saves the need for headphones, stick an audio book onto your mp3 player and lay and listen, more relaxing than reading and more conducive to dropping off.
    Hope this may help.

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    1. thank you very much for your reply!!!

      I have never heard of a sound pillow before, so I will definitely look into that and the relaxation tapes.

      very helpful advice, much appreciated. x

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    2. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundasleep-266888-Sound-Asleep-Pillow/dp/B000XS42RQ Im sure other places sell them

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  2. Oooo now I have no problem nodding off but I have heard about sleep training and I do think a routine could help so long as you stick to it. Back when I was pregnant I used to have a mug of warm milk and take a book to bed which I always nearly nodded off in after about half an hour!

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    1. I think that is my problem, sticking to the routine!!

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  3. I will dab lavender essential oil on my nose or drip 1-2 drops on my pillow. This helps me to relax and eventually sleep takes over.

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    1. Do you know I should of thought about something like that because I think it is lavender in my little ones bubble bath and lotion.

      Another great tip, thank you.

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  4. I spoke to a sleep-training psychiatrist about this at Cybher, now I sleep amazingly! If you contact him, I'm sure he'd send you his booklet, and this natural pumpkin seed drink called ZenBev. I'll blog about it soon, I was so sceptical because I was like you, but no more! http://www.zenbev.com/

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    1. Thank you for your comment, I will definitely have a look, its nice to get recommendations of things people have actually tried!! x

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