Last night Oscar fell asleep on the floor about 1 foot away from the table with his dinner set upon it. It was 5 : 45pm. I try to get dinner out as early as possible so this doesn't happen, but this is the 2nd time in as many days. At around 12 : 30am I was just getting to sleep (I am having one of my periods of being exhausted but not sleeping well), when Oscar woke in his own bed and started to cry. Duncan carried him through to our bed (but Duncan was actually still doing work downstairs). When Duncan came to bed some time after 2am Oscar was still awake, crying over a hang nail and asking for a drink of milk. This of course meant that I was awake. I am guessing we finally got back to sleep about 3am, only to be prodded awake at 6 : 30am. "Wake up Mummy, its morning"
I REALLY struggle with tiredness. I know most people don't do particularly well with it, but there are some people who seem to manage to keep going, a little slower, a little quieter but without too much complaint. I envy them, I am not like that. I have been known to cry, shout, faint, mistake a tired day for the onset of severe depression, throw up or literally fall asleep where I am standing. My Mum told me that one of the big clues that I had a heart condition was my unnatural sleep activities. I could be sitting playing on the floor then I would suddenly slump and be fast asleep, little toys still in hand. I have seen children fall asleep fast (who don't have a heart condition), but apparently you could recognise this as not quite right if you saw it. I guess it started a lifetime intolerance to being tired (or something?). Oscar has a bit of a complicated sleep relationship too. There are days when he is SO tired he can hardly move and spends the day whining and literally lying about the place. He never seems to have bags of energy, and any bursts of big activity are offset by huge periods of exhaustion. I cant remember there being such a huge contrast noticeable with the other kids. If Oscar's heart checks out ok (appointment next Tuesday), then I think I will have to look a bit more closely at Oscar's / our routine.
The roll on from this pattern is of course, it's 2 : 30pm and Oscar is fast asleep. There was no chance of him making it through today without a nap. This means bedtime tonight will not be before 9 : 00pm, in fact its most likely to be about 10 : 00pm. So in essence, any routine we may have had is out of the window. I know some parents abolish bed time completely and let their kids flop down when they want to, but we are just not able to do that. We appreciate out 2 hour slot in an evening between Oscar's bedtime and mine (and Duncan going back to doing work). Ah well, it will sort itself out in the end I suppose. I have parented teenagers, I know that all too soon I will be dragging him out of bed for lunch and sitting up waiting for his key in the lock. Ok, scared myself there, I am off to take a nap so I have the energy to do dinner, bathtime and the long evening ahead.
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