sleep

Night night, a bed-by-bed look at childhood

March 10, 2014 By Ellen

Sleep is probably the best bit about parenthood. Not my own, although that is never to be underrated. I mean the moment your little darling surrenders to the arms of Morpheus… and all the moments they stay there. It doesn’t matter how horrible and trying they’ve been during the waking hours, the time they let […]

Jingle jangle: My perfect Christmas day begins with a good night’s kip

December 7, 2013 By Ellen

Dear Santa,Please can I have some sleep for Christmas. Ideally eight-hours non-stop (every single day, preferably), but if you can’t manage that, then six or seven would do.I know I’ll probably leave it too late on the 24th to start stuffing weird shaped things into the hosiery… and I ought to have done it days […]

A momentary panic in the bedroom

April 13, 2012 By Ellen

Boy three has graduated. At the grand age of almost three he has moved from a cot and sleeping bad into a Big Boy bed under a quilt.We had been considering it for a while, mostly because he had grown so much. He was starting to look faintly silly in the same way a dainty […]

Where are my specs? and the truth about being in your 40s.

September 7, 2011 By Ellen

Do you remember when tiredness was a result of partying not restless toddlers? When you had loads of energy? And when a night in on the sofa was the most boring thing you could think of instead of a bit of treat? Perhaps that’s still you and you’re thinking that you will never, ever get […]

Are you a miser of sleep or a squanderer?

August 26, 2011 By Ellen

I said sleep… Since Boy One appeared nearly 12 years ago, I’ve been lucky to have had lots of opportunity to study the phenomena of sleep deprivation. Before then, I was confident arrogant enough to think that anyone who moaned of lack of sleep was a wimp. I had stayed up all night to party, […]