Cameron Diaz says she and Benji Madden have opposite sleep schedules and it helps them parent better
- Cameron Diaz said that her and her husband Benji Madden's sleep schedules have made it easier to parent their first daughter Raddix during an Instagram livestream with Gucci Westman on Wednesday.
- "He wants to go to bed late. I go to bed early and wake up early. He wants to go to bed and wake up later," the 47-year-old actress said.
- She continued, "That works so well for us as parents because I can go to bed a few hours earlier, and he does those later feeds. I can go to bed and then I can wake up early and then I'm with her early in the morning, and he can sleep."
- The collaborative method, she explained, has shown her that, "There's a reason opposites attract. It's because we need each other."
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Cameron Diaz said that her and her husband Benji Madden's naturally different sleep schedules have been an asset in the first three months of parenting their daughter Raddix, whom the couple welcomed in January.
During an Instagram livestream with Gucci Westman on Wednesday, the 47-year-old actress explained that her 41-year-old husband is a "night" person.
"He wants to go to bed late. I go to bed early and wake up early. He wants to go to bed and wake up later," she said, adding that their opposing internal clocks "works so well" for them as parents.
"I can go to bed a few hours earlier, and he does those later feeds and I can go to bed and then I can wake up early and then I'm with her early in the morning and he can sleep. Those things are so valuable. We don't even think about it," she said, adding, "There's a reason opposites attract. It's because we need each other."
At four months old, babies sleep about 14 or 15 hours each day, 10 to 12 of which are at night, Insider reported. However, they wake up once or twice during the night for feedings, meaning Diaz and Madden can split the responsibilities.
Diaz shared that their different schedules have led her to think that "we need somebody who does what we don't do."
Her tendency to rise early in the morning isn't a new habit, she explained.
"I literally get up and don't stop moving until I lay my head down on the pillow," the actress shared, adding, "I'm so used to going, going, going. My engine starts and I don't idle through the day."
And although she said she's been keeping busy in self-isolation with her family, Diaz admitted that she's felt anxious about the coronavirus pandemic's potentially lasting impacts on the world and on her family.
"None of us know what's going to happen, when this is going to end or what the new start is," she said, adding, "I've thought of a million things: 'Are we going to move away? Where do we raise our child?' All those things you think about."
Diaz said she tries to combat the thoughts and "stay in the moment" when she gets nervous about the future.
Typically very private about her marriage with the Good Charlotte musician, Diaz recently opened up about the first few months of parenting during an Instagram livestream with Katherine Power, the CEO of Who What Wear, raving that Madden is "an amazing father."
"I'm so lucky he's my baby's daddy," she said, continuing to explain that motherhood is the "best, best, best part of my life."
"I'm so, so grateful and so happy, and it's the best thing ever, and I'm so lucky to get to do it with Benji, and we're just having the best time," Diaz said, adding, "It's so great. I'm just thrilled."
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