Parents and rest, do they ever go hand in hand? Can you remember 7 consecutive days when you felt well rested? I can’t! Between potty training, errands, work, dinner and __________ (fill in the blank) it’s amazing we can function in the morning. Add to this ever growing responsibility list: diet & allergy journals, doctor’s appointments, cream/medicine applications, and stress…then you get another level of sleep deprivation. Fun times!
Infant/Toddlers (–) Sleep (–) Itchy Skin (+) Daily Life = One extra tired mama and daddy!
The inevitable occurs as if a moment of telepathy happens, you and your spouse look at each other and decide (without a word) that you’d rather sit on the couch in vegetation mode, rather than go to a movie or grab dinner. I’ve done it and I don’t feel guilty! Sometimes rest trumps moving a limb. The issue arrives when it becomes a habit.
Fight the urge!!
Goal: Quick Quality Time. Since we may never get the rest we dream of, we must take advantage of the few smidgets of peace we have together. Usually that means nap or bedtime!
A few ideas to keep the googlies in each others’ eyes while your little one is resting:
Sit on the porch and have a quick chat while you enjoy the day.
Share dessert together.
Take turns tell each other jokes or ask trivia questions
Save dinner time for adults for after the kids go to sleep. (May require an early bedtime on the kids behalf)
Nap together! Ok not all time, but hey, we need rest right?
Save the chores for another time / day!
Take turns sharing successes that occurred this week – both big or small
Feel the rest coming? Have some suggestions? Share with us!
I had all that, plus the Hubs at work for long long days. So when the tot was finally in deep sleep mode I was sitting alone one the sofa, hardly able to hold the remote control. 😉 My (or should I say our) couple-time saver was preschool. The tot started
a little less then a month ago and now I am much more rested and have spend much more time with the Hubs. And on top of that, the tot is very happy. And not scratching and no flare ups either. Knock on wood. 🙂 So what I’m trying to say is get help from other
people you can rely on to care for your child the right way and then: be yourself again.