Sleeping Woes and a few Mistakes

Matthew has always been a good sleeper. Once we got a routine down it was second nature for him to head to bed, fall asleep on his own, and never be heard from again until morning. That is until lately....

For the past few months he has, I think, been testing his boundaries in the area of sleeping, both with naps and bedtime. Being the lover of change that I am, that has caused for some unexpected emotions lately. So here's a sample routine at night time...

Dinner...Nightly walk...Bath...Read books....Prayers and Songs...Zone out and look tired....Get in bed at about 8-8:15...NOW, it gets interesting.

Cry for Mommy and Daddy for about 5 minutes...Take inventory of all stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows in his bed...re-hash the day and talk about all that he did....sing a line from Thomas or Old McDonald...take the bar out of his bed safety rail...tell Mommy or Daddy that we're tired...get threatened about not going to sleep....overcome by guilt, get patted for reassurance that Mommy and Daddy still love you and only want the best for you....stay quiet for a good 10 minutes, finally!!....then begin singing loudly Thomas...and about 9-9:15 we will finally fall asleep.  Whew!!  (Note: I'm probably missing some steps of this process and definately left out the explicitives and long sighs heard out in the hallway).

So, can I completely blame my two, nearing two and a half year old for all this behavior? Nope. As I was laying on the couch listening to him talk last night I realized we, as parents, have completely undone alot of the sleep training we worked hard to put into place. Therefore, my confession...I can make mistakes. During naps, we've become relaxed about him falling asleep with one of us because we'll be snuggling reading or watching a show to wind down. We won't let him "cry it out" as much, and we probably are not as firm as we could be. I think all that combined with everyone wanting to control the situation, including the two year old, its not going to end well.

Lately he has also been waking up from dreams and talking (very clearly) in his sleep at night. That has added a new dimension onto it as well that I don't think I was prepared for. But if I've learned anything from being a mother, it is the following...I do not claim to know everything, I do claim to strive to know my children the best I can, and I will pray daily for strength to roll with the punches and changes that are inevitably going to arise with mommyhood.

So, there will be times when I, and David, don't do it right but my child is healthy, happy and content so we must be doing something right.  And we can all sleep when we're dead, right?!?!!?