Last night I slept on the floor. Yes. The floor. Next to Baby-Ko’s crib. In a fetal position. Using his changing pad as pillow, and my robe as a blanket, I managed to squeeze my arm through a slat so that my son, my very (possibly terrible) two year old son, could hold my hand, and eventually (pray god) fall the eff asleep.
Two hours and one majorly numb hip later, I gently removed my hand from his grip, and literally crept out of the room cursing every creak my exhausted knees caused as I crawled down the hallway.
For about a week now, I have broken every rule in THE sleep book. He cries. I pick him up. I put him down. I go in. I go out. I sleep with him. He sleeps with me. He eats. I eat. He drinks. I drink. It’s like sleep training all over again only worse: He TALKS. He can reason with me. He can beg. He can plead. And he can even make me laugh in the middle of the night. (Not sure why he said he wanted “Meat-a-balls” in the middle of the night. But he did. And it was funny).
The point is, I’m clueless mommy 101 right now and I’ve got to get a grip. I’ve got to get him back to sleep and I’ve got to be consistent. It’s hard to know if his new bad habit (which seems to strike at about 1:45am) is the result of something environmental or something developmental, but holy shit: I’m tired.
As I put Baby-Ko to sleep tonight and promised him that I would be in the other room all night, and that tonight, he would sleep in his room ALONE, surrounded by Eeyore, Tigger, Teddy, Monkey and his favorite three blankets, I prayed that he understood what I was saying. I prayed that he understood that I love him so much and that I would sleep on the floor all night with my hand through a slat if I had to…. but that I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to. That I’m pretty sure that it will only make things harder down the road if I don’t nip this in the bud now (again). And that when he’s 17, and I’m still checking for monsters under his bed, (and giving him cheerios in a bowl because he simply asks for it at 3am because I’m simply exhausted) his buddies won’t think it’s very cool…
At least that’s what I’m telling myself tonight…. tears and all.
Wish me luck…. And send me your best sleep training advice. Seriously. Just not at 1:45 am. I”ll probably be a little… wrapped up….
FILED UNDER: A Little Life
TELL THE WORLD!
J-Ko...I've been in your shoes before. It's never fun. Especially because those manipulative little toddlers know that their mommy's are putty in their hands at 2am. Evil creatures they are! ;-)
Don't give in. Stay firm. And drink lots of coffee and pray that your concealer doesn't fail you. :-)
xoxo
No real helpful advice, but I certainly feel your pain!
Please help! Let me know what works for you.
Love the blog. And seriously, the tag line of "just trying to find the time to shave her legs" could apply to me. If you saw my legs right now, you'd think I was a man. It's on my list....but about #51 on a list of 51 things to do!
Will be back to visit again!
Tamara (aka. The Unexperienced Mom)
www.theunexperiencedmom.com
What finally worked was getting him out of his crib and into a "big boy" bed - and I don't mean a toddler bed, a good ol' single sized bed that I could lie down with him and rub his back as he fell asleep - this was step 1 (which lasted for one week - don't deter - don't let him crawl into bed with you and if he comes and visit during the night get him back into his own bed). Step 2 was to then move from sleeping with him to sitting next to him on a chair until he fell asleep - again for one week. Step 3 - sitting at the door for one week while he fell asleep. The final step was sitting in our bedroom and letting him know that I was there if he needed me. I couldn't believe it when one night, I kissed him goodnight and went to our bedroom, fell asleep and woke up at 6am to no noise and ran to his room to check if he was still breathing . . . unbelievable!!!
I feel liberated now - if only my own internal clock would go back to normal now (also baby #2 is coming March so I expect to go through this again!). Tell me I'm not crazy!
What finally worked was getting him out of his crib and into a "big boy" bed - and I don't mean a toddler bed, a good ol' single sized bed that I could lie down with him and rub his back as he fell asleep - this was step 1 (which lasted for one week - don't deter - don't let him crawl into bed with you and if he comes and visit during the night get him back into his own bed). Step 2 was to then move from sleeping with him to sitting next to him on a chair until he fell asleep - again for one week. Step 3 - sitting at the door for one week while he fell asleep. The final step was sitting in our bedroom and letting him know that I was there if he needed me. I couldn't believe it when one night, I kissed him goodnight and went to our bedroom, fell asleep and woke up at 6am to no noise and ran to his room to check if he was still breathing . . . unbelievable!!!
I feel liberated now - if only my own internal clock would go back to normal now (also baby #2 is coming March so I expect to go through this again!). Tell me I'm not crazy!