Nikko, I love this in theory. Truly. It makes so much sense from my lens of feminine blueprints that we wouldn’t push all day just to pass out at night, drained. This is one of those things I’m noticing in myself that the conditioning is so real. It seems too luxurious to take sleep back. It’s an interesting observation for someone that lives pretty counter cultural to give myself permission to not feel like a bum if I nap during the day. And also, from a practical standpoint in winter, nights are so long up here. Navigating them from 4:30 pm and beyond would be tricky. I’m so tired by 8:30 because it’s been dark for almost 4 hours.
Yes, this week, I’m up at 5am because the waning moon is shining right on my bed and baby and I play and make faces at each other until the sun catches up with us, which is lovely because I’m solidly in bed by 8pm, so I’m ready! Last week, the moon was full and coming in more like 2 and 3 am so that was when I woke up; and after a while I was going back to sleep and then sleeping in later than I am this week. Such nuanced micro adjustments to the schedule!! I remember in college I used to stay up studying until 10 pm or later most nights, and 5am felt terrible back then! Funny to have more energy now with 5 children and my sleep schedule looks “worse” in terms of variability, but I feel so much better.
Thanks for this! And looking forward to listening to the podcasts. We have our first, five weeks old now. And grateful to find valuable information from you
I have been taking hour long naps almost daily throughout my entire pregnancy! It’s really wonderful. Though, I’ve also had big time insomnia at night, which is strange because I’m getting ever-more-careful about the circadian stuff.. but I think we’ve got it mostly figured out now!
You recent post about sleep schedules during different times of the year was really helpful to me also in thinking through how we could implement this during the summer. If I could get my bigger kids to nap for a couple hours during the day, I could absolutely let them stay up later in the evenings to enjoy the cooler temps, because afternoons get pretty unbearable here in SC in the summers.
Yes, pregnancy naps and wakings! Pregnancy insomnia often has to do with blood sugar crashes in the night, I know a lot of women who report eating a bit of cheese and bacon or smoked fish (protein and fat and salt) will make it so they can fall back asleep easily. And a similar snack before bed can help prevent the wake up if it’s not just needing to shift around and you really can’t get back to sleep. Later on in pregnancy, the wakings help protect baby so the umbilical cord doesn’t get compressed, so it’s considered healthy to be a bit more restless as you grow. I really found going to bed earlier and allowing myself to sleep in a bit in the morning really helped me feel rested. And yes! Summer evenings can be so much fun if everyone is in a good mood and not getting over-tired by then. I find my bunch is usually pretty up for a quiet hour middle of the day when it’s so hot and humid. That’s when we tend to do storytime and books, instead of bedtime.
Nikko, I love this in theory. Truly. It makes so much sense from my lens of feminine blueprints that we wouldn’t push all day just to pass out at night, drained. This is one of those things I’m noticing in myself that the conditioning is so real. It seems too luxurious to take sleep back. It’s an interesting observation for someone that lives pretty counter cultural to give myself permission to not feel like a bum if I nap during the day. And also, from a practical standpoint in winter, nights are so long up here. Navigating them from 4:30 pm and beyond would be tricky. I’m so tired by 8:30 because it’s been dark for almost 4 hours.
Yes, this week, I’m up at 5am because the waning moon is shining right on my bed and baby and I play and make faces at each other until the sun catches up with us, which is lovely because I’m solidly in bed by 8pm, so I’m ready! Last week, the moon was full and coming in more like 2 and 3 am so that was when I woke up; and after a while I was going back to sleep and then sleeping in later than I am this week. Such nuanced micro adjustments to the schedule!! I remember in college I used to stay up studying until 10 pm or later most nights, and 5am felt terrible back then! Funny to have more energy now with 5 children and my sleep schedule looks “worse” in terms of variability, but I feel so much better.
Thanks for this! And looking forward to listening to the podcasts. We have our first, five weeks old now. And grateful to find valuable information from you
Congratulations!
Thank you!
I have been taking hour long naps almost daily throughout my entire pregnancy! It’s really wonderful. Though, I’ve also had big time insomnia at night, which is strange because I’m getting ever-more-careful about the circadian stuff.. but I think we’ve got it mostly figured out now!
You recent post about sleep schedules during different times of the year was really helpful to me also in thinking through how we could implement this during the summer. If I could get my bigger kids to nap for a couple hours during the day, I could absolutely let them stay up later in the evenings to enjoy the cooler temps, because afternoons get pretty unbearable here in SC in the summers.
Yes, pregnancy naps and wakings! Pregnancy insomnia often has to do with blood sugar crashes in the night, I know a lot of women who report eating a bit of cheese and bacon or smoked fish (protein and fat and salt) will make it so they can fall back asleep easily. And a similar snack before bed can help prevent the wake up if it’s not just needing to shift around and you really can’t get back to sleep. Later on in pregnancy, the wakings help protect baby so the umbilical cord doesn’t get compressed, so it’s considered healthy to be a bit more restless as you grow. I really found going to bed earlier and allowing myself to sleep in a bit in the morning really helped me feel rested. And yes! Summer evenings can be so much fun if everyone is in a good mood and not getting over-tired by then. I find my bunch is usually pretty up for a quiet hour middle of the day when it’s so hot and humid. That’s when we tend to do storytime and books, instead of bedtime.