Sleeping Habits

Ah yes, bedtime. The time of day that parents look forward to, so we can get a few moments of silence before we turn in for the night ourselves.

Bedtime at our house has been a 3-ring circus for the past several years. Hannah likes to consider herself to be an adult, and tries to stay up as late as she can. Either that child has a bladder the size of a pea, or she's drinking a thousand gallons of liquid each time she gets up for a drink. It's a routine now that she goes to the bathroom at least 10 times a night. Her bedtime is 10 pm during the summer, and 9pm during the school year, but she never seems to fall asleep until sometime after midnight. I guess that's when all her trips to the kitchen and bathroom finally wear her out. She also seems to remember all of the things she forgot to tell me during the day, at 11:00 at night. I sound like a broken record, "Go to bed Hannah!", Go to bed Hannah!"

And then there's Dawson. For the past several years, we have been battling with him to sleep in his own bed. When he was 3, we were finally able to keep him in his bed, long enough for us to fall asleep. But, when we would wake up in the morning, there he was. He had crept into our bed at some point in the wee hours of the morning, and didn't make a peep.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the better part of an evening battling with him to stay in his bed, and this photo is the product of that battle. I don't allow him to take a drink to bed, because, while he is potty trained, he still has accidents at night. As you can see, he must have decided he was thirsty, and tip-toed into the kitchen to get himself a drink. He was so tired, that he fell asleep mid-drink, with the straw still in his mouth. Last week was a big week for Dawson. We ran out of pull-ups, which he was wearing at night only, and he had to start sleeping in his underwear. It's been almost a full week, and I'm happy to report that there have been no accidents. He truly is a big boy now. :)

Dave never sleeps. At least, that's what he says. But when you tell him he fell asleep, (because he usually does at a family function) and that he was snoring, then he claims he never snores. So, when the opportunity presented itself at our Easter gathering at my mom's house this year, I couldn't resist recording him not sleeping, and of course, not snoring. But in his defense, he was working a lot of overtime back then, and still is today. But even when he is working a straight 40 hours per week schedule, he is still exhausted, because his job is very physically demanding. He does a lot for our family, and we would be lost without him.