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A mother of three took to the popular Mumsnet forum "Am I Being Unreasonable" and said her husband told her she was lazy for her nap schedule.
Mumsnet user dhisaknob wrote in her post that she has a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 12-week-old. Because she does the night feedings, she said she naps during the day to catch up on sleep.
Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends that parents should sleep when the baby sleeps, otherwise they may be "severely sleep deprived."
"Sleeping while the baby sleeps can sometimes be challenging because of other kids in the house or our internal body clocks, but it's a good idea to try and get some rest," Johns Hopkins sleep specialist Grace W. Pien said.
The organization also encouraged both parents to share responsibilities at night.
In her post, dhisaknob wrote that she feeds the baby at 6 a.m. before getting her other children awake and ready for school. Her husband drops them off and she stays home with the baby and cleans the house.
"Then at around 10:00 a.m. I will get back into bed with baby with a cuppy try and nap or just relax," she wrote. "[Dear husband] will drop [dear daughter] back from nursery at 12 then he goes back to his office."
After serving lunch to her daughter, they take another nap until about 1:30 in the afternoon. At that point, dhisaknob showers and prepares the next feeding for her baby and stays downstairs for the remainder of the day.
"DH will pop in and see me napping or whatever and will accuse me of being lazy and will say, 'why don't you just get dressed and take the kids out instead of getting back into bed,'" she wrote.
Dhisaknob said this schedule helps her not feel "groggy" throughout the day. Although she does not take the children out often during the week, she said they are out doing different activities on the weekend.
Though some recommended leaving the house more frequently to get some fresh air, most commenters jumped to her defense.
"You're sleeping when the baby sleeps and if you're doing all the things you need to that's not lazy it's just catching up on your nighttime hours and protecting yourself from the negative effects of sleep deprivation which can be awful and cause mental health issues etc.," a Mumsnet user wrote.
Another commented that her schedule balances rest with work she needs complete.
One wrote that they had a similar routine and remembers the time fondly.
Others criticized dhisaknob's husband.
"Get him to book leave for a week and take over the two weekends and the rocking days so he can see how sleep deprivation affects him," a comment read.
"The day he grows 3 people in his body, births them and gets up all night every night with them he can judge," wrote another Mumsnet user.
A commenter suggested that dhisaknob call her husband lazy when he wakes up after a full night's sleep.
"I think your [dear husband] needs to be kinder and more understanding as to how hard lack of sleep and caring for babies and children can be," read another comment.
Other posts on the forum have attracted input and opinions, including one written by a woman who asked if she was unreasonable for not wanting to go to a friend's party that was being thrown to celebrate paying off her mortgage.
Another post stirred a discussion about whether a mother was wrong for allowing her 6-year-old daughter to dye her hair.
One woman was criticized for asking a friend to prepare her home for photos in return for "lunch and bubbles."
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more