What to do, what to do...
>> Friday, August 14, 2009 –
Thomas
.....with my two and a hass year old toddler? Yes, you read that correctly: two and a hass. (He can't pronounce his fs.) Actually, he's closer to three but he's adamant that he's two and a hass.
Internet, he's making me lose my shit on a nightly basis. The bed time battle is getting worse by the night! Currently he is sleeping on a toddler Aerobed on the floor next to my bed. We borrowed it from my mother-in-law. This is a slight improvement considering that since May, he has been in our bed. However, now HE WILL ONLY GO TO BED IF I GO WITH HIM. So this means that I either go to bed at 7:30 at his bed time which is totally unrealistic. Or I go to bed with him around 9:00 and then he is a mess the next morning because he didn't get enough sleep. Yes, that hour and a hass makes a big difference! I'm taking any and all advice you've got. So Internet, start sharing! Because if something doesn't change soon, I'm going to be bald! (From the post baby hormone change shedding and FROM PULLING THE REST OUT.) C'mon, help a sista out!
I hope someone gives you some advice soon because I'm dealing with something very similar. Usually I just let Jonathan stay up with me and pass out on his own time. Then we go to sleep together. He has a nap with his sitter during the day and another with his dad on Fridays.
On that rare occasion he passes out first and early ...ah....bliss!
I went to bed every night with Cooper and Maren when I was pregnant with Briar - 7:30 on the nose. Now that I no longer require quiet as much sleep, I am in the same boat as both you and Lisa. Cooper and Maren both sleep in my bed (and I won't even go into what a problem that is) . . . I leave a small light on so that I can sit and do things on the laptop, pay bills, or fold laundry. They know that under no uncertain terms are they to get up, talk, or mess with each other - if they do, they are immediately sent to their room (where they cry, scream, and meltdown until the swear they are ready to go to sleep.) It is not ideal, and I really, really wish I had the energy to put a stop to all of it. I am starting to see improvements in Cooper - in terms of how quickly he falls asleep and in the fact that I can leave the room for a few minutes at a time and come back to find that he is still laying there quietly.
(And my kids are the same way - I have tried just letting them stay up with me until 9:00, but then they are holy terrors the next day!)
(And now you know why hubby and I REALLY aren't having sex.)
Ohhhhhman. This is a toughie. When Col and I split up for 6 months the girls spent every single night in my bed with me. At the end of that time, I was required to lay with them for them to fall asleep and half the time I'd end up falling asleep myself fully clothed and with every light in the house still on, etc. It sucked!!
When Col and I got back together, we had no choice but to get the girls transitioned into their own room. We prettied it up, created a super-long, super-fun bedtime routine and somehow they just took to it eventually. The whole "big girls sleep in big girl beds in big girl room" kinda thing helped too. I don't know if it's just my kids or all of them, but they will do almost anything to be called and praised 'big girls'.
I hear you on this. Sometimes you've just got put your foot firmly down for your own sanity and deal with the fallout for a few nights. Good luck.