Our three year old is allergic to sleep. She goes to bed wonderfully (that is after I have read to her, placed her blankets on her perfectly, fetched her all of her "favorite" stuffed animals, found her Bible, placed Holy Water on her head, kissed her 4 times on each cheek, and made a sacrifice to the sleep gods that her slumber will last her throughout the night!), she just doesn't STAY asleep.
Some nights she is up just once, others nights she can visit our bedroom up to 4 times. It is frustrating and we have tried everything (so please do not put your "we tried this with our precious angel and it worked" suggestions in my comments). Each time she wakes up I simply guide her back to her bed and tuck her in... it takes only 2 minutes and I am back in my own bed in no time. I will admit that some nights I do not fall asleep again after she wakes me up, but I am assuming that is just a side affect of pregnancy and surely by the time she is 18 she will not be waking me up any longer. *fingers crossed*
The other night I came up with a brilliant plan! My son has never been a good sleeper either (my children must be so intelligent that their brains do not turn off at night and therefore they are thinking of quantum physics or something instead of sleeping). He does not like to sleep alone-or be alone... so I suggested to our little one that she goes and climbs in with her brother when she wakes up in the night. That way, she can bypass coming into my room and the two little people in our house who like to cuddle and have a warm body next to them can have each other.
The first night was a success. Our son welcomed her into his bed and they slept soundly until after I was even done with my shower. It was a world record! The second night... last night, did not go so well.
I did not calculate into my evil "passing of the sleepless night's torch" that my son is both a mixture of his father and of me. The part that is of his father is the one that would welcome his sister into his bed to cuddle up next to and keep warm. This is just like my husband, he likes to cuddle and sleep close. I on the other hand HATE IT! I am cranky at night and I do not want to be touched. That is the part that my son picked up from me... the cranky if woken up part. So, although he would have happily had a little body next to him to cuddle with, he was not happy when she walked in at 4 a.m. and demanded he share his covers and give her a pillow (she obviously gets her "demanding" attitude from me as well... can't these kids get any of my good traits like my ability to recall 80's pop music at the sound of the first note?)
Our little one was back in our room in no time... with tears in her eyes and proclaiming her brother's meanness for all of the household to hear. That is except for our oldest who I would never suggest to our little one to go climb in bed with because our oldest is the carbon copy of me. Do not bother this child when she sleeps. She sleeps long and hard and if woken up she will place her wrath upon you. I just leave her be-one day she will have children of her own and her pleasant nights of sleeping soundly will be shattered.
So now we are back to where we started. I think I will do a practice run tonight before bed-much like you would practice a fire drill with your children. I will have them practice how to quietly climb in and out of each other's beds without waking mommy up. If all else fails, I will just pretend I am a possum and play dead when my daughter walks in my room--then my husband will have to carry the sleep torch, but he is very VERY good at playing possum himself... he's been doing it now for three years.
Some nights she is up just once, others nights she can visit our bedroom up to 4 times. It is frustrating and we have tried everything (so please do not put your "we tried this with our precious angel and it worked" suggestions in my comments). Each time she wakes up I simply guide her back to her bed and tuck her in... it takes only 2 minutes and I am back in my own bed in no time. I will admit that some nights I do not fall asleep again after she wakes me up, but I am assuming that is just a side affect of pregnancy and surely by the time she is 18 she will not be waking me up any longer. *fingers crossed*
The other night I came up with a brilliant plan! My son has never been a good sleeper either (my children must be so intelligent that their brains do not turn off at night and therefore they are thinking of quantum physics or something instead of sleeping). He does not like to sleep alone-or be alone... so I suggested to our little one that she goes and climbs in with her brother when she wakes up in the night. That way, she can bypass coming into my room and the two little people in our house who like to cuddle and have a warm body next to them can have each other.
The first night was a success. Our son welcomed her into his bed and they slept soundly until after I was even done with my shower. It was a world record! The second night... last night, did not go so well.
I did not calculate into my evil "passing of the sleepless night's torch" that my son is both a mixture of his father and of me. The part that is of his father is the one that would welcome his sister into his bed to cuddle up next to and keep warm. This is just like my husband, he likes to cuddle and sleep close. I on the other hand HATE IT! I am cranky at night and I do not want to be touched. That is the part that my son picked up from me... the cranky if woken up part. So, although he would have happily had a little body next to him to cuddle with, he was not happy when she walked in at 4 a.m. and demanded he share his covers and give her a pillow (she obviously gets her "demanding" attitude from me as well... can't these kids get any of my good traits like my ability to recall 80's pop music at the sound of the first note?)
Our little one was back in our room in no time... with tears in her eyes and proclaiming her brother's meanness for all of the household to hear. That is except for our oldest who I would never suggest to our little one to go climb in bed with because our oldest is the carbon copy of me. Do not bother this child when she sleeps. She sleeps long and hard and if woken up she will place her wrath upon you. I just leave her be-one day she will have children of her own and her pleasant nights of sleeping soundly will be shattered.
So now we are back to where we started. I think I will do a practice run tonight before bed-much like you would practice a fire drill with your children. I will have them practice how to quietly climb in and out of each other's beds without waking mommy up. If all else fails, I will just pretend I am a possum and play dead when my daughter walks in my room--then my husband will have to carry the sleep torch, but he is very VERY good at playing possum himself... he's been doing it now for three years.
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