Hush Little Baby

Sleep has been on my mind a lot lately, mostly because I haven't been getting much of it.  My baby has been having trouble getting to sleep, she's been waking up twice in the night and also has been waking up for the day around 5 a.m.  I continually remind myself that it is only temporary and I will be getting sleep soon, or will I?

  

I look back at my 6 year old, she was the most amazing sleeper as a baby.  She started sleeping through the night around 2 months old.  When she was a year and a half she would often ask to go to bed and she never put up any fight when you told her it was bed time.  Then something crazy happened, the 'lay with me' started.  Although we will never be sure of how or why it got so out of control, I do blame a big part of it on my husband.  When she was around 2-1/2 or closer to 3 years old we would put her to bed with a story and then 'lay with her' for a short time.  Well when my husband would 'lay with her' he would often fall asleep, thus increasing the amount of time that someone was in her bed.  He would usually remain asleep well into her slumber so he would wake up and leave her room without her even knowing.  Not surprisingly my daughter would always ask for daddy to put her to sleep and before we knew it someone had to be in her bed until she fell asleep.  Well by this age she was quite good at keeping herself awake and one of us would often be in the room for a good hour or so and if she ever woke in the night we would have to again lay with her until she fell asleep.  In the end we did wean her off of this habit and brought it to an end, but still to this day she will often ask for someone to lay with her.  Presently she does go to sleep by herself, although sometimes she does fight it, but she is plagued by nightmares and will often wake me in the night for comfort.  Which is simply my reassurance and escorting her back to bed.  Okay fine I don't mind her coming to me when she is frightened but this morning/night she comes and wakes me with "mommy, I have to go pee and get a drink."

"okay" I mumble.

"Can you help me?" she asks

WTH?? she's almost 7 and I have to help with a bathroom break, okay fine, whatever, I stumble out of bed and get it over with, too tired to argue.

Now I think about the sleep issues with my 3 year old.  Obviously there haven't been that many since she isn't that old but I remember nearly going insane from lack of sleep when she was just shy of a year old.  She would be up pretty much every hour in the night, (yikes!), I was loosing my mind.  The going to sleep by herself started late, basically I was still nursing and rocking her to sleep at this time.  Mostly I had delayed sleep training do to, well, my laziness, it was so much easier to not to worry about a crying baby.  So I tried the same method I had done with her sister, slowly removing myself from the room over a few days, and it was not working at all.  I finally had to resort to the dreaded 'cry it out', I hate the idea but I was at my wits end.  I laugh when I look back, 2 days and 10 minutes of crying each, (are you freaking serious, why didn't I do this earlier).  Today she goes to bed very well providing you get the timing right.  She has a window of opportunity if you go too early or too late it takes her forever to settle down.  Also she cannot nap anymore since that causes huge bed time problems as well. Luckily she doesn't wake in the night much, almost never, but as most preschoolers she is up early in the morning.  I often find myself just sneaking out of the babies room after finally getting her down after an early morning wake up and turn around only to have my 3 year old bouncing out of her room, (sigh, ugh).


Then I look to the future and think okay, once they are independent I will finally be able to sleep. 
- As soon as they get home for their first late night movie with friends.  
- As soon as they are home safe from their date.  
- As soon as they are home safe after the party.  
Then I look even further and decide once they are young adults maybe then I won't have to wait up for them, then I will only be woken by the sound of them sneaking in at 3 a.m.