Schuyler

I don't know why it would be unhealthy to sleep on a different
schedule. Why would there be a relationship between getting enough
sleep later in on in the day than getting enough sleep earlier on? It
seems that sleeping in late would offset going to bed late. Linnaea
stopped taking naps around 2 and she started going to sleep earlier. It
wasn't planned, it just happened. Simon is only now, at 11, staying up
late and sleeping in. He's still asleep on the floor behind me after a
sleepover last night, it's 10 am. Much later in the day, I think he got up at about 11.

It was actually earlier than 2. There is a legend of my sleeplessness as a young, young child. My family including my paternal grandparents were camping in Washington, I'm trying to figure out how old I would have been. I would have been 22 months to 25 months. Anyhow. We had a VW van and they set up my bed in the van as they were worried I would crawl out into Grizzly territory if I'd been in a tent. Everyone else slept in tents. My grandpa got up early or was up late to check the fire or to take a leak, maybe, and I had unrolled the window in the front and was just attempting to crawl out. At 2, the legends tell me, I was wandering the house at night and my parents had to be careful to keep their door closed so that I wouldn't walk in on them like the boy in the movie Parents and be traumatized for life, of course they weren't also eating human flesh, which might have taken the edge off my imagined trauma. At 2 I also protested taking naps by running
away from home. I was brought back by the police having made it 2 blocks away. I can remember sleeplessness from 4, maybe, maybe 3. I don't remember sleep at 2. I just e-mailed my mom and she said that she doesn't remember me EVER sleeping at a "reasonable" hour (the quotes were both mine and hers, the capitals were hers).

Schuyler
http://www.waynforth.blogspot.com





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My daughter is 2. She is still nursing and we have co-slept since she
was 6 months old. What was written above sounds so much like her.
(Schuyler, how do you know what you were like at 2 yo?? do you
remember, or is it from family telling you?) She will stay awake until
she is exhausted. She has never had a set bedtime. Right now if she
takes a nap she stays up late (the past 4 nights 1 am, 11:45,
midnight, 11:45) She is also starting to sleep in till 10 or sometimes
later when she goes to bed late. She has been skipping nap a couple
times a week starting around her 2nd Birthday (she is almost 2 1/2
now). So today she skipped nap, and fell asleep at 7 pm. However she
had a hard day. One of my friends said it can't be good for her to
stay up late. I said I think it is ok, she is eating well, sleeping
when she is tired, usually happy, and growing and healthy. The hard
part is staying up that late sometimes. I am a night owl too, so it is
not too much of an issue, but I babysit other children and sometimes I
have to get up earlier, and she usually wakes up earlier on those days.

I guess for the most part I am really happy with how we are doing
things, even though I don't really know anyone else who does it this
way. It is so encouraging to read about other people's experience,
both their own, and their children's. I wonder if there are other
things I could do better or differently -- for instance, she loves to
watch movies and I wonder sometimes if that is just keeping her awake.
I love the peaceful nights when she goes to sleep so happily, and I
feel bad when it seems like she is overtired and unhappy (and to
clarify, she falls asleep where she wants and often with a movie on of
her choice...) I know if I weren't working at all (babysitting) it
would be less of an issue because our schedule would be even more
relaxed. I am struggling right now with what is the best thing for her
and our family. I think a lot of people we know in real life think we
are crazy to "let" her stay up so late. But I don't look at it that
way at all -- her internal clock seems set that way and I really
wouldn't change how we do things, although I'm not sure about my
husband! (not that he can complain since I have basically been the one
helping her fall asleep since she was born!)

Ok, I know I am rambling. If this strikes anyone and they are inspired
to respond I would really appreciate it!



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space_and_freedom

> My daughter is 2. She is still nursing and we have co-slept since
> she was 6 months old. She has never had a set bedtime. Right now if
> she takes a nap she stays up late (the past 4 nights 1 am, 11:45,
> midnight, 11:45)

If my son (2.75yrs) falls asleep much before midnight, it ends up
being a nap, then we are up till 4 or 5 in the morning. He can sleep
in till as late as 2pm, however. He still nurses and co-sleeps, so he
isn't sleeping solid through the night, still waking to nurse then
sleeping more.

> One of my friends said it can't be good for her to
> stay up late.

I think honoring her natural rhythms is much better for her than
trying to get her to sleep during certain hours because of someone
else's expectations.

> I said I think it is ok, she is eating well, sleeping
> when she is tired, usually happy, and growing and healthy.

This was a good response; I might also stop discussing sleep with that
particular friend.

> I babysit other children and sometimes I
> have to get up earlier, and she usually wakes up earlier on those
> days.

This would definitely make it harder. Generally I get to sleep when my
son sleeps (minus a couple hours on each end); my two daughters are
fairly self sufficient if our sleep schedules don't mesh perfectly.

Jen H. (DD 7, DD 6, DS 2)

http://crazychicknlady.livejournal.com/

m_aduhene

> My daughter is 2. She is still nursing and we have co-slept since sh
> was 6 months old. She will stay awake until she is exhausted. She
has never had a set bedtime. Right now if she takes a nap she stays up
late (the past 4 nights 1 am, 11:45, midnight, 11:45) She is also
starting to sleep in till 10 or sometimes later when she goes to bed
late. She has been skipping nap a couple times a week starting around
her 2nd Birthday (she is almost 2 1/2 now). So today she skipped nap,
and fell asleep at 7 pm. However she had a hard day. One of my friends
said it can't be good for her to stay up late. I said I think it is
ok, she is eating well, sleeping when she is tired, usually happy, and
growing and healthy.


Hello,
My dd is 21/2. she is still nursing(ish) and i have co-slept with her
since birth (and with her two siblings dd nearly 8 and ds 41/2).
she has never had a bedtime (neither did the others) becos it just
didn't seem to fit with the on demand b/feeding and she (and they)
just used to fall asleep at the breast when she was tired. she has
been on and off napping for about 6/7 months now. if she goes to bed
late then she wakes up late and then doesn't need a nap, but if she
hass gone to bed late and we have had to be somewhere and she has been
up early then she does still fall asleep in the day. also as you said
if she sleeps at all in the day now then she won't be ready for sleep
until past midnight. luckily i can go with the flow as i don't have
to be up like u do. but what i wanted to say is all my children are
fit and healthy and seem to cope better than most, for example, if i
know that they could really do with staying in bed but we have to be
up and about.

i too have to put up with comments and suggestions from others about
whether young children should be up so late, but as i have followed my
instincts as much as possible from the moment they were born then i
feel confident that it will be ok. my husband too is taking some
convincing and is mainly ok with it until we hit a spot where i might
be tired and could just do with someone else being around. he then
throws at me that children should be in bed asleep or a least in their
rooms after a certain time.

the only downside sometimes is little people around when we might want
to just have an evening together, but we stay up late and just get
some time in when they have all nodded off.

don't know if i've helped.

blessings
michelle


>I think a lot of people we know in real life think we
> are crazy to "let" her stay up so late. But I don't look at it that
> way at all -- her internal clock seems set that way and I really
> wouldn't change how we do things, although I'm not sure about my
> husband! (not that he can complain since I have basically been the
one helping her fall asleep since she was born!)