Friday, January 30, 2009

Breaking the Cycle

Y'all want to see kidified, do you? *Heaving Sigh..* Fine. See what the rest of my house looks like.

--Take that. (Why yes, that is a box of Sam Adams light sitting ever-so-jauntily atop a tub of baby toys.)

--And that.


(One never knows what one will find upon opening the door to Becca's room in the morning. Here was today's version. "Mommy," she said. "Look! I cleaned my room!")

--And this.
(Oh lordy. I cannot stand leaving my kitchen long enough to deal with the rest of the house.)

--And oh-dear-God-THAT.

There, my friends. Evidence that children do, in fact, live here. Actually, they not only live here, they run the joint.

So, when we switched Becca to her big girl bed we told her she should NEVER get out of it. Ever. And she didn't. But then her FATHER (ahem) told her she could get out of bed in the morning, when the sun was up, and turn on her lamp and play quietly in her room. This was a desperate attempt to get another hour of sleep for us instead of having to lay there listening to her yelling, "MOMMY! MAMA! CAN I GET UP NOW!?"

But, unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse. The other night she was up at 4 a.m. with her light on, playing. For a couple weeks now she has been up at 5 every day. Completely destroying her room. And soiling her pull-up and leaving some....umm... presents for me to sanitize in the morning. And, after waking up three times a night with Mr. Dragon-Screech, getting up at 5 a.m. to yell at her really isn't my kind of fun. And she won't return to sleep at all. Even when I unplug the lamp and remove the toys. She stays awake in her bed. Squealing.

Then, she is tired all morning. Her eyes vacant and wide. Exhausted from having been awake since 4:45 a.m. So, she will take a three or four hour nap. I know she needs the sleep. So I let her sleep until 4 p.m. She goes to sleep just fine in the evening, and is back awake at 5 again.

It is time for something to be done. I am afraid it is time to quit pull-ups cold turkey. And, I also think it is time to wake her up from her naps after 2 hours, so maybe she'll be more tired in the early morning. But, wow. I'm terrified people. Terrfied. Someone hold me.

4 comments:

Swistle said...

Love the photos. Love.

Angie said...

She naps for more than 2 hours!!! I'm totally envious. We've gone through the early morning waking deal. Ashlyn understands that she can't leave her room until 6, but we can often hear her playing before then. Even Christmas morning, I could hear her scamper out of her room and then back inside. It wasn't yet 6! Since she isn't napping any longer, she sleeps later in the morning, though, and will even tell us that she is tired before bed time. She'll skip bath to go right to bed. Why won't she just nap?!

Good luck with your early morning waking. And, that is what all of our homes look like most of the time!

Erin said...

I love the new floors, and I love the kid messes even MORE. Looks exactly like our house! Except your floors are nicer.

SO. Cal has completely quit naps. I mourned. I mean- seriously- I GRIEVED. But our new routine is workable. He still naps at school (HOW? Do they TIE him to the cot?), so he stays up until 7:30pm on week nights. That works out well because we get to see more of him after work. But on Sat and Sun when he doesn't nap, he is ready for bed by 6:30pm (or sometimes 6:15). I KNOW! It's so EARLY! But he sleeps soundly for 12-13 hours at night without a nap. And on Sat and Sun, we're (ahem) READY for him to go to bed at 6:15.

Jen said...

THAT is more like it. That is what MY house looks like. With not as pretty floors.

Oh dear GOD, what is UP with them waking at the crack of ass every morning? Kate AND Claire are doing the SAME THING right now and it is making me freakin' crazy. I get an added bonus, though: Kate is also NOT NAPPING. So it is pure hell. Please tell me you when you have found a solution.