I Need Sleep (and chances are you do, too)

I recently attended a mom blogger event at Sleepy's, an East Coast mattress store chain that's making its mark in the Midwest. Bloggers were invited to bring their little ones and their large store in Glenview was the ultimate playground for these kids who bounced from mattress to mattress as the moms listened to sleep expert Nancy Rothstein. Or tried to over the din of excited screeches and squeals; seriously, this Sleepy's store was the ultimate playdate and made me yearn for the days my kids were so carefree. The kiddos did quiet down while someone read them Nancy's cute book, My Daddy Snores.

Nancy shared a lot of interesting sleep facts and tips. I already knew some of them, like how ridiculously developmentally unsuited teenage bodies are for early start high school schedules. (See this related post from when I was a Serta Ambassador) And that most of us don't get enough sleep. She said that nightlights should be red in order to be minimally disruptive to the brain during late-night trips to the bathroom and such.

I'm a pretty good sleeper. Better than most based on Nancy's quick surveys of the group.

Or I was until the puppy came along. Did I mention we adopted a puppy?

We did, in mid-July. He's cute and sweet, if occasionally mischievous, but he is ruining my sleep and in the short time since the Sleepy's event, it's been particularly bad. Or maybe I've been more aware of it. I'm tired, I'm crabby, my brain is foggy. (But, Kim, aren't you always like that?) I'm relying on coffee or naps to get me through the day.

It's like having a baby in the house. And I think we're ready for the sleep training thing, but I'm not sure how to handle this without ruining a few nights of sleep for everyone in the house. The issue isn't so much that the puppy needs to pee at 2 AM, but that he wakes and is lonely, despite being in a crate next to my son's bed. I wind up going in and laying down on a pillow on the floor next to him to quiet him (great idea for an arthritic 45 y.o.-- not) and wake up an hour or so later stiff, sore and tired, not to mention resentful of my husband who stays in bed because after all, he's got The Important Job that Pays Most of Our Bills*.

Just like having a baby in the house. See?

I suspect having the pup sleep in someone's bed would put an easy end to this mess, but we don't want to head down that road. I don't recall if Nancy addressed sleeping with pets, but again, we don't want to go that route.

At any rate. Sleep: I need more of it. Sleepy's: they've got tons of mattress. Their Glenview location is the largest mattress store I've ever seen.

Technically, this is a sponsored post because the Sleepy's folks passed along a few goodies, including Nancy's book, a fleece blanket, a pillow and a gift card (no, not enough to cover a new mattress as some of you have already asked) and other sleep-friendly items. Thanks to the Sleepy's folks for letting me add a Bedtime Math book to the mix. I am the managing editor of the parent blog at that site.


*We've been married 20 years. When blinded by our mutual love and respect we have plenty of things to resent about each other at this point.

Typos? Did you read the part about how tired I am?

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