Sleepless in NH

One of the first questions I get from a lot of people concerning Josette is, "How is she sleeping?" or "Does she sleep through the night?" I can't really blame them because, frankly, I am always curious as to the state of any baby's sleeping as well, particularly now that I realize how varied sleeping patterns can be for little ones. On occasion I go back and read blog posts around the time that Finn was Josette's age and it is amusing because many of them are frantic posts about our lack of sleep. Well, almost three years later, I can say that none of my worrying and research amounted to much and we are still sleep deprived! Only now, my expectations are more realistic thus Josette's wakeups don't bother me as much. And, she does sleep a bit better than her big brother ever did at this age. Now, as for Finn, he is still struggling in the sleep department. We have improved by leaps and bounds and we did have a few magical months of him sleeping through the night, but we are now on to new challenges with him.

First, Finn is a very early riser, like 4:30-5am early! And while Josette would most often sleep in, she is typically up around that time to nurse. So, if I can't get her back to sleep before Finn wakes up with the boundless energy of a 2-year-old, then we are all up. Here we are cuddled up on one such morning:Finn is incredibly resistant to naps these days too, choosing to skip them unless he just can't keep his eyes open on a walk or in the car. He tells us, "the sun is up, so I can't sleep." Additionally, he is often up several times in the middle of the night these days saying he just can't sleep and he is scared. His imagination is in overdrive these days and he is often scared of monsters and other things in the dark. This has been problematic in that none of us are getting the quality rest that our bodies and minds crave. Finn is often overtired and manic until he finally drops.
Here he is a few weeks ago. He was having a hard time around 4 pm. He threw himself to the ground in protest over something. I let him have a minute to calm and when I went to pick him up, I discovered he had fallen asleep.Again, around 4pm after several days of no napping, he just fell asleep exhaused on the couch:And, here he is on a morning stroller ride after a particularly restless night:
Oh, why do kiddos not understand the wonderful restorative value of sleep? Alas, I know we will get through these phases too and eventually sleep (maybe in the teenage years?).