Oh the sleep

How I wish I could program my body to enjoy nap time. How I wish I could take naps and not wait for the night to descend. How I wish I could take a nap with my kids when they were enjoying their brief nap times. How I wish…

Nobody will appreciate the kid’s nap time better than the mothers, not even an overworked professional. The quietness which surrounds the house. The hush-hush sound in which the conversations are exchanged. The slow movement in the kitchen. The carefulness by which the doors are closed. And the person who disturbs this quietness becomes the number one enemy!

If you have been reading my posts, by now you might be knowing that I fondly address my two kids as jeki ( elder daughter who is three and the younger son who is one ). With the age gap, I face a deadly task to put them to sleep together during the day time. Yes, it’s a TASK. It’s a rare blissful scenario when both of them sleep together, and I put a lot of efforts and strategy so that they sleep simultaneously during the night time!

I know that tips and tricks do not work with kids and every strategy becomes defunct after one day. But food and nap time schedule stays. What is the age of your baby? For a new born and until the time your baby turns one, it’s a little difficult to control their day time naps. They wake up, eat, play, get tired and sleep on their own. Once they turn one early to bed and early to rise adage still holds true. Lights should be switched off, there should not be any distraction in the room, no other person, phones on silent mode only then you will be able to achieve this. You can not put them to sleep when you are distracted. Lie down with them and pretend that you are sleeping.And yes do shut the door. My babies are naughty enough to open the door and run to other rooms or will cling to their dad or granny and mention that they are not sleepy!

A few tips which have worked for me, so far… chuckle

Lullabies and stories help. Sometimes I have seen myself going off to sleep while narrating bed time stories to them!

Warm milk with honey.

Change their clothes so that they feel nice and comfortable in a fresh pair of clothes. Preferably put their night dress so that they know it’s time to go to the bed

And yes a clean tidy bed. Keep their toys away so that they don’t get distracted and starts playing with them.

A regular waking up and sleep time.

You wake up at least half an hour before them so that you can finish your chores before kids are awake and clamoring for your attention.

But when you are trying to put them to sleep, grab a quick nap with them. Trust me even twenty minutes of closed eyes does wonder.

Run your fingers through their hair, It’s relaxing.

If you feel they played too much, do press their legs and feet. They do not understand and can not convey when their legs are paining.

Most important, keep your phone away or on silent mode.

Kids are copy cats! They will not know it’s a nap time until you relax with them. Let’s venture into the dream world.