12 January 2015

Ah...Oh, so this is what the office looks like after the kids are asleep......hmmmm......Almost forgotten where the 'new post' button was...

So Titus got used to sleeping in my arms when he was sick a couple of weeks ago.  I don't regret babying him like that at all (because, face it, he's a *baby* and how long does that last?) but I decided I really needed to get him sleeping solo in his own bed again.

And last night was *hard.*  I'm using a combination of methods that I've gradually accumilated through Felicity's no-sleep toddlerhood....this one (don't remember where it's from) is where you pick up the baby when they're fussy, but then put them back in their crib as soon as they're settled - no matter how long it takes.  Somehow, it helps when you count.  I find that after 5 times it's remarkably difficult when they start to cry again, but it's one of those things that if you start it, you really need to follow through, or it makes the entire process *even harder* the next time.  Do not surrender.  This is a war you must win, or resign yourself to sleeplessness forever (HA! but no pressure, right?!)

So last night, it took 14 times to lay him down before he fell asleep in his cot.  He woke up an hour later and it took another 10 times to lay him down again.  He then slept until 2am - *angels sing* and I fed him (before Felicity woke up from wetting the bed and I had to get up and change her bedding and PJs until abotu 3am....)  but then Titus woke up at 3:15am and I'm like, 'no Buddy....you ate really good only an hour ago - this is not an all-night drive through'

it takes 52 times to put him back in bed.  (oh, and I was so done by about time 23.....)  Finally, he gives it up about 5am and we're all able to go back to sleep.

And Felicity comes in at 6am wanting cuddles (she is succintly banished to her room until 7am when her clock changes.)  8am and I drag my unwilling carcass out of bed.  (Thank you Lord I didn't have to get up before 8am!)

I'm telling myself it's an initial investment.  It hurts now, but if I can get him to sleep in his bed again, it will pay dividends in the long run!  And I honestly think the only way I was able to hold the line last night was because I got 3-something hours of solo sleep before all hell broke loose.

Tonight, it took 3 lay-downs before he settled.  We will see how the rest of the night goes.

In the meantime, I'm going to go find the inside of my eyeballs for a while......




(We actually had a very good day today, much to my surprise.  Sometime I will start blogging about my daytime activities when the nights become less exciting.  Suffice to say, since Felicity was at nursery in the morning, I was able to go and buy her some larger t-shirts (I bought size 6s and 7s - 7 is still too big, thank goodness!) at the grocery store and sit and write silly poetry in a crowded coffee shop with my gorgeous baby for a while.  {And not even a 'yummy-mummy-type' coffee shop - I was the only one with a pram there!  Way to be hipster-wannabe me!  Unfortunately, don't think it improved the poetry.....}  Then this afternoon Felicity and I took a walk around some of the charity shops in town while waiting to pick up her medicine at the pharmacy.....we bought a new puzzle (with a map and flags of the world), a small plastic crocodile (he's going to be a hit with the other zoo animals....I thought he would be destined to be the antagonist but then Felicity informed me that 'he's a nice crocodile.  He only eats vegetables') and 6 bratz dollies (50p each!) to paint new sweet faces on.  Felicity and I had a great time then when we got home refurbishing our finds - I painted new faces on 2 of the dollies and she re-painted her crocodile (I think her painting looks better than the paint it came with actually...)  The kitchen table still bears the evidence in acrylic paint....but no matter, we had a brilliant time!  I was gratified that she took both new dollies with her in the bathtub (neccesary after the amount of paint distributed on hands, arms, faces....and also a good excuse to wash out the dollie's hair before they are assimilated into the household) and then dressed them in PJs before tucking them in bed with her.  I had put her hair up into a tinkerbell bun to keep it dry in the bath and was breathless at how grown up and *long* she looked in her PJs dressing her dollies.  I keep trying to call her a toddler, because technically she is still only 3, but she is really not!  Where did this big girl come from?  We have been reading a funny book from the library called 'Pizza Kittens' before bed the last 3 nights - which has an explosion of peas in the middle that makes us all laugh.  Then, Felicity wanted to hold and cuddle and kiss Titus while we tucked her into bed and said prayers.  Beautiful beautiful kids.  Oh yeah, and we watched the Hobbit ('the one with the horses and the TROLL!') and ate pancakes for dessert after dinner.)

Life is Good.  Just need more sleep.