Anyway, my little people, who are so excited about the days adventures, had other ideas and thought 4:00am would be a more appropriately hour.
Needless to say I am currently drinking a largish coffee watching the sun rise.
This 4:00am encounter with the world has made me empathise with my sister whose 19 month old darling has taken to waking at this time. Daily. For the last three months. She is also feeding a 12 week old baby at some point during the night. How is she surviving?
How did you manage patches like this as a new parent or a parent with toddlers? Have you got any survival tips for those in similar situations?
My advice - keep the toddlers room dark in the mornings and try to get them to stay in bed by reading stories quietly or quiet play (or get them to climb in yours for a cuddle). The idea is to teach them that 4am is not the start of the day. Try to delay them getting up and having breakfast if you can - keep this time quiet and restful.
ReplyDeleteAs for coping with lack of sleep - nap frequently, when ever and where ever you can - even if its on the couch beside the toddler playing on the floor. Also - only do the minimum to keep the house going - let some jobs go and nap instead.