When you have more than one child it seems natural to make comparisons and contrasts. Do they look alike? Do their personalities resemble each other? Will they share similar interests or dislikes? Because Griffin is still so young it is too early to answer many of these questions, but one trait seems to be emerging just like his brother. It is his sleep patterns (and I do not say this in jubilation)! From very early on Nolan needed little sleep. He took naps, but they were short and most of the time always seemed like a sufficient amount of time unfortunately. He completely stopped napping before he turned two years old (Side note. Many of my friends with four year olds STILL nap!! I cannot even comprehend this) If Nolan accidentally falls asleep in the car for even ten minutes, that is an extra two hours awake at night. I am not kidding. This is how it has always been for Nolan.
And now onto Griffin (who ironically I just heard stirring in his crib after a 30 minute nap! GRRR! ) He seems to be following precisely in his brothers footsteps. Griffin goes to bed about 8:30 at night and for the last few weeks has been up at 6:30 in the morning HAPPY and ready to go. Now this may seem strange, but it frustrates me that he is happy when he wakes up! This means he has received enough sleep. See my dilemma? He takes two naps during the day for a total of about 2 1/2 hours or so a day. Griffin sleeps about 1 1/2 hours more a day than Nolan who is 3 1/2 years older. How is this possible??? Doesn’t a six month old need more sleep? I have friends whose four years olds take longer naps than that! Can you sense my frustration? Anyone who is a parent knows children napping equals you get YOUR stuff done during this time. Apparently everyone but me. Just like Nolan, if Griffin sleeps ten minutes in the car he is raring to go! I am too afraid to go anywhere out of fear he will fall asleep in the car and then I do not even get my little piddily naps out of him for the day. Unfortunately there is no tricks I can pull out of my bag to fix this problem because Griffin is HAPPY! He seems to be OK with the lack of sleep.
Several years ago someone had told me that children who are gifted typically need less sleep than other children. I have always remembered this, but never really thought to look into it any further. In order to make myself feel better and reframe this “situation” I researched it last night and found research study after research study, article after article to back up this claim. I was feeling better by this minute! Here are two excerpts that I read.
“In addition, it has been our observation that a fair number of highly gifted children do not seem to need much sleep-in fact, they routinely need less sleep than their parents, even as infants and toddlers! Families of the highly gifted may struggle with certain issues such as schooling and sleep, but these families are also greatly enriched by the unexpected joys such a child brings to the family unit.”
“One of the common challenges that parents of gifted children face is dealing with a child who doesn’t seem to want or need as much sleep as most children do. Not every gifted child has this issue, but it comes up again and again in casual conversation among parents of gifted kids. These children stop napping very early on, and may bounce around into the wee hours of the morning, oblivious to their parent’s discomfort. A ten minute catnap in the car seat can be enough to sustain a busy one year old through the entire day and well into evening.” YEP!!!! SOUNDS FAMILIAR!!
So I have decided to reframe my predicament and put a positive spin on the fact that unfortunately I have children that just do not need a lot of sleep to function. I am just going to keep telling myself that I have gifted children (eyes rolling) and I should feel so lucky! 
Boy is my bubble going to burst when Nolan does not test into the gifted program in Kindergarten! What will I do then?
