Sleepy Mommy... but toddler still active...

[i]Hi aseretdd, wow...I am sure that is quite hard, anyway, I have no kids and if ever I have I will do the same! If she is not yet sleepy and it's pass 9 pm, I will now make her follow me and sleep..LOL! Hopefully, you will get great tips from our friends here who are MOm also![/i]

Well I'm no mum so I again, I'm saying this from the child's perspective as I remember it :D I remember that I had a strict schedule when it came to sleeping. When I was in grade school (and younger than that), I was to sleep in the afternoon for at least 3 hours. Then bedtime is strictly at 8.30PM. Sleeping long hours is good for kids because during sleep is the only time that your body releases growth hormones and it's actually the best time for the body and mind to recover the stress encountered during the day. That schedule was a house rule and I did not even complain about it "because mum/dad said so" :D I guess setting rules is enough. Also, if I say that I can't sleep they keep on telling me to close my eyes and count and then check on me again after a few minutes. If I'm SERIOUSLY not sleepy, my dad used to massage my head for a few minutes so I could relax. I doze off quickly then :D Thanks for the response on my discussion!

I know how you feel. My daughter has recently started full day prek, so she is at school durning the day. Before this month though, I stayed home with her. I work part-time from home a few nights week. Those nights were long nights. Since my daughter stopped taking naps at 3 (and she is 4 1/2) now I was so tired when she was wide awake. On the nights that she didn't want to go to bed, we still put her in her room. I wouldn't fall asleep right away, no matter how tired I was because it is so nerve racking if that happens. I would always just make sure that her room was child proofed well, put up the baby gate, and would let her read a book in bed. I am not sure how old your child is, but I think the biggest thing for toddlers and preschoolers is to make sure the house or room is very baby proofed (like baby gates by the doors). That way if you do happen to fall asleep first accidently, you don't have to worry too much about them going out on a exploration.

this is my problem also with my eldest..she is going to be 3 years old next month and she is very active, running down and up the stairs...even at 12am she is still awake and still wants to play...good thing mahjong games are being played downstairs and her grandparents are there to watch her..she really like to socialize with people...so i just let her go downstairs and play and if she is already tired she can go to the bed and i give her milk...then we can all go to sleep.

There where times I would be so tired that I would lay on the couch and let my children sit on me or across my legs while I dozed on and off while the TV was on. I slept through sesame street and Mr. Rogers. It is not easy working and trying to be a mother. Good luck my friend.

Hello aseretdd, Hah! I experienced it few days ago... *smiles* I was very sleepy and my son was still in his 'active mode'. He ran here and there, destroying the house with all his toys and stuff while I couldn't even open my eyes! I told my husband that I was sleepy and he, afraid of having to take care of the boy decided to sleep early to accompany me (in fact it is his way of avoiding the duty) So, I prepared the bed and my husband forced our boy to sleep. Pity him...He couldn't sleep and he was wide awake. My husband scared him with all kind of noise so that he will go to sleep *laughs* He called my name few times like whispering to my ears but I just couldn't open my eyes... When I woke up in the middle of the night, he was fast asleep and my husband....he complained a day after that he didn't have enough sleep!

i don't have a child yet... so i don't really know how it feels when you feel tired but you still have to look after your toddler... but i know that when i feel tired, i just want to sleep and do nothing as i need the rest... so i don't blame you if you fall asleep first before your baby on that day because you feel so tired... take care and have a nice day...

I've been in this situation for a few times. My daughter is cooperative. I mean, she lies down beside me and watches TV or DVD. She catually likes the lights turned on so I can never close it before she sleeps. Most of the time, I fall asleep before she does. Sometimes, she wakes me up to carry her, sometimes I wake up with her beside me asleep already. LOL!

I always experience this since I still have kids of a very young age. I keep myself awake even how hard it is so I can watch over them. i could sleep because of fear that they might experience accidents. I guess, it is one of the toughest tasks of being a mom.

aseretdd oh my your in laws should not have let her sleep so long.that was not fair on you. next time ask them to wake her after an hour so she will be sleepy at bedtime. poor you. I am an elderly widow so all that is behind me now but when I had small kids I never let them have too long naps that way they did get sleepy at bedtime too.

I was also in the same situation many times. My son sleeps much during the daytime and is very active at night. Usually, I will be very tired after work and wants to rest for sometime, but the child likes to play with me. One thing I would do is play with him for sometime and then tries to make him sleep by singing lullabies. Most of the time it works, but not always.

I always experienced that everyday. I don't know where they get thier energy. They are really active and takes longer for them to sleep even they don't have afternoon kept. I am thinking that they are fighting the sleep coz they dont want to miss something. And yes i just let them play and just lay down until he get sleep.

At night, if my children are still wide awake, i would put off the light and put on the aircond. Most of the time my children will fall asleep or starts to be sleepy. My problem is during day time. Since i got pregnant, i always needs to take a nap in the afternoon. However, my two boys will always have agenda of their own. So i would just lie on the sofa and take the much needed nap, draw the curtains and let them continue playing. Most of the time, they wont disturb me. This way, i will always get at least 20 - 30 minutes of afternoon nap which is just enough for me.