Exam week is almost over! Well, we still have a few exam next week.. but we’re done with the major subjects. At alam nyo naman pag exam week, minsan hindi maiiwasan ang hindi magpuyat.. masakit na nga ang ulo ko haha I badly need my 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! (as if that would be possible LOL).. but more than my need, I noticed how my first suffers from our lack of sleep. Arriving from school, he would go straight to the bedroom and sleep.. I can sense how exhausted he was.. and he a bit cranky too. He’s not his usual cheerful and playful self. I know it’s my fault.. knowing the importance of sleep, I shouldn’t have let him stay up late.. OK this will be the last time I will do it. Promise.. I’ll be a better momtutor next grading. 

From our experience, that’s the usual effect of lack of sleep, crankiness, loss of appetite and sometimes lack of foucs.. kawawa naman ang mga bagets pag ganyan ang mode nila.. mas OK pa na laging riot kesa makita mong matamlay sila.. kaya promise talaga, that would be the last time that I will let them stay up late for reviewing.. umpisa pa lang ng third grading eh maghahanda na ako ng bongga haha

But there are surprising effects of lack of sleep for babies. An article from Children’s Hospital Michigan says:

What’s more, a study in Pediatrics confirmed that childhood sleep deficiencies may not only have immediate effects, but may be linked to future problems, including decreases in mental functioning that begin as early as adolescence. Increasing evidence also suggests that poor sleep contributes to major health problems, such as obesity.

You read the full article here.

OBESITY? seriously?!?

Another article published in Harvard Shcool of Public Health confirmed that lack of sleep can lead to obesity, in fact in a study in New Zealand, the conclusion was: Each one hour reduction in sleep during childhood was associated with a 50 percent higher risk of obesity at age 32.

How come? I am sure you also want to know how lack of sleep can lead to obesity?

I also want to know..obesity is a serious case and of course, as a mom I want to prevent it.. but it is now known yet how lack of sleep influence weight but researchers cited a theory on how lack of sleep can lead to decreased physical activity and also can lead to increase in food intake. A second theory was mentioned which focuses on hormones that regulate body weight. Although the studies have made for adults and not for children, the theory is still considered.

Are you as surprised as I am how lack of sleep can affect our babies? It’s a long term effect moms, so really have to know our kids more in the sleep department. Know the Most Common Reasons Why Babies Wake Up At Night and how to avoid it.

Hello October! This month is my birthday month as a mom.. 10 years of motherhood, 10 years of bliss, diaper change and 10 years of learning…sleepless nights included. Four kids in a row and you’ll know what I mean. Well, 10 years after, I can almost say goodbye to sleepless nights (uhm motherhood related but not work related haha). It was the hardest with my new born since he was colic but gets better with every child.

They say I’m a super mom, being able to handle four kids and I would always answer, “sanayan lang yan.” Of course it is not just about getting used to it, it’s more like learning from it.. observing and trying to come up with a better solution..as the qoute above said (which I got from Pampers FB Page), it’s about swimming and learning to swim at the same time. And 10 years of motherhood has taught me a lot of things like how to deal with common reasons why babies wake up at night. I know that sleep is very important to baby’s development and growth so I am bothered when the kids are not having enough sleep. Based on my experience with my four kids, the most common reason why they wake up at night are discomfort, change in routine and over stimulation or too much activity during the day.

When it comes to discomfort, my kids usually wake up because of room temperature. Most of the times, the room is too warm for them to have a good night sleep. Of course, the easiest way to resolve that is to buy a new air conditioning unit, which we did.

my happy sleepers 🙂

Wetness and diaper leakage is another form of discomfort but it was never a problem for us. When I asked a few moms I know, they say that the most common reason why their baby wakes up at night is hunger. Obviously, we all know that to provide the best possible care for our babies, specially at night, is trust a diaper brand that can protect our babies’ complete sleep against wetness.

I also noticed that when we travel or have a change in our daily routine, their sleeping patter changes too. They wake up at night feeling irritated. The same thing happens when they have too much activity during day time. Like when we went to La Union last summer and the two boys tried surfing while Chico and Sati went swimming all day. They had a hard time sleeping and woke up twice during the night.

How about you mommies? Are you keen on the reasons why your baby wakes up at night? And what are you doing to prevent them from waking up at night?