The Gene

I'm a sleeper. I got it from my dad. It's a blessing and a curse. For example, I can have a decent night's sleep almost anywhere: hotels, friends' houses, in a tent, etc. I can also usually take a 2 hour nap and still sleep just fine at night. However, this also means that, because I enjoy sleep - and require a decent amount of sleep - I can get a little grumpy if I know I'm not going to get much. I can also wake up after a poor nights' sleep finding it difficult to think about much besides when I'll get to sleep again. I will say, though, that entrance into motherhood has really given me perspective on how much sleep an adult actually needs. I very rarely get grumpy about it and, since having "survived" the sleeplessness of two newborns, appreciate a good nights' sleep all the more. Of course, if given the chance, I can take a nap any day of the week :).

Something strange happened when I had Lily, though. I was sort of obsessed about her sleep. And honestly, she is and always has been a kid who needs her sleep (kind of like me!). She has always slept 11-13 hours per night and taken at least 2 hours worth of consistant naps during the day. I know there are about 8 million moms that think we're pretty lucky in that regard, and I agree wholeheartedly! But back to the obsession thing: when I was working almost full time up until last summer, I found it VERY important that she get a good, quality nap every single day. If she had a random, crazy, day where she just wasn't tired (which does happen every once in awhile), it totally stressed me out. And I'm not really a high-stress person. It's the sleep gene in me, I tell you!

But the other night, I told my husband that I liked myself a lot better now that it didn't bother me when, once a week or so, Lily decided she just wasn't tired. (I know, I know, she's three...but I promise you that she still needs her sleep!) Now if she goes two days without sleep....it can get a little ugly. But even that's getting better....for both of us. Oh, and my husband says he likes me better too :).

So yes, Lily is a spunky three year old who plays hard and - most days - requires a nap (that, nowadays, I cut off at two hours). It's been two days without a nap. Yesterday, she spent her naptime climbing the closet organizer in her closet - again (to the top, if you must know, and scraping her finger on the light fixture near the ceiling). Today it was well-spent snowmobiling with Grandpa. When we got home, she was begging for a nap, but it was around 5:00...too late for a nap but a bit too early for bed. She settled for the Wiggles while I made supper, and this is what happened:

I think she's inherited the gene.