Wednesday, July 30, 2008

All right, I was just emailing my sister-in-law and have decided it's time for a parenting confession:

I am a sleep nazi.

No, not in the "Baby Wise" philosophy that subscribes to exact nap times and leaving baby in the crib (crying or not) for whole assigned nap time.

However, I have fully bought into the "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" research that connects poor sleep habits to behavior/attention and health problems later in life. As a consequence, Owen doesn't miss naps. In fact, I realized that since we established a nap routine around 3-4 months of age, Owen has NEVER MISSED A NAP. Occasionally, a nap takes place in the car or in the backpack carrier (where he sleeps remarkably well). Occasionally the naps are short. BUT, we have NEVER SKIPPED A NAP. What would happen?

In addition, we have never kept him up late for some sort of special event.

This comes to light because we got tickets to go see the Huskies play in Eugene over Labor Day Weekend. We've been totally excited to take Owen to his first Husky game. Then... we just found out the game isn't until 7 PM. The thought of keeping him up 3-4 hours past his normal bed time totally freaks me out. What am I so worried about? It's only one day.

See - sleep nazi! Repeat to self: It's only one day, it's only one day, it's only one day...

3 comments:

Shannon said...

You blog design is SO cute!!!!! I want to steal it!

Anyways, the one thing I have learned from you is SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE! I have learned my lesson on this one.

Oh, can I still borrow the hooter hider? :)

Sara said...

As far as the Husky game goes, think of it as an experiment in changing time zones without actually traveling!!

As I'm learning, a few sleepless nights would turn anyone into a sleep nazi. If what you're doing works for you guys and works for Owen, stick with it, and don't feel bad about it!

Stephanie said...

Okay, I'm seriously in agreement with you on this one. Read the same book - loved it - and we live by it. Mackenzie is 2 now. And I can count the naps she's intentionally missed on one hand. We have never, ever, kept her up late just for fun. There must be parents out there who feel differently, but frankly I couldn't live with my child any other way. She'd be a monster. Instead, I have a cute, well rested little miracle - who sometimes slips into monster mode for no reason. ;)

All of this by way of saying that if you'd like to deposit your little miracle at our house while you enjoy the game, feel free to come on by. We have the nursery all ready for baby #2, but no baby until late October. Mi crib, su crib, lady!