Sleep!!!

Camden came to classes with me yesterday (no school for him). He's been to a number of my college and grad school classes and always does really well. Today - there was a little surprise... During my second class, he put his head on my lap and fell asleep! He slept for about an hour. He picked the perfect time, too, b/c I was leading a class discussion on a case for which I had to diagnose a child - and there were some sensitive topics to discuss (I had brought along his MP3 player so he wouldn't have heard anyway). He slept through it all, so good timing! But I was shocked b/c he never naps - esp like this! Now, I can't say I really minded (not only b/c of my presentation) b/c I loved having his head in my lap and being able to play with his hair and his face. There is just something about that - you moms (and dads, too, I'm sure) know what I mean!

So, on the way home we talked a little about sleep. He already knew he would be going to bed a little earlier this week, since he stays up really late when he visits his dad. (And when Camden stays up late, he does not tend to sleep in to make up for any of the lost sleep...) Camden did the math, comparing how many hours of sleep he got over spring break to how many he typically gets at home. At home, he goes to bed at 7:30 and gets up a little before 6. Yes, many of his friends go to sleep an hour or so later than he does... He's asked a few times when can he stay up later. My response - when you don't need this much sleep. The child goes right to sleep when he goes to bed - and stays asleep until it's time to get up. He's a great sleeper, and he obviously needs this much sleep (I do, too, I just don't get it...). So, once we talk about that, he drops it and understands that I'm not just being mean but he really does need that much.

Anyway, back to the main story... He compared the sleeping from spring break to what he gets at home, and he discovered that he missed between 32 and 40 hours of sleep over the 8 days he was away! I don't think he was expecting it to be that much! It really made a difference to come up with a total estimation. And when the child was in bed a little after 7pm, he didn't complain and went right to sleep. He needed it!